Fork Report: Sun Devils fall to Creighton in Vegas

Sure, you could read the box score and know who won, but we all know that won’t tell you everything that happened in a football game. So, we will give you a fork report, providing you with the analysis, quotes and notes from ASU’s November 24 loss to Creighton in the championship game of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic. Final score: Creighton 87, Arizona State 73.

The Good: Jahii Carson. The freshman point guard out of Mesa High School is quite simply one of the funnest ASU basketballers to watch in recent memory. Carson had 30 points on 9-of-17 shooting, had four steals and handed out a team-high seven assists in the loss. Carson is averaging 21 points per game in his first five collegiate contests.

The Bad: ASU looked shell-shocked to begin the game. Creighton, behind All-American Doug McDermott, sprinted out to a 7-0 lead in the first 62 seconds of the game, and never looked back. After McDermott knocked down a jumper and was fouled by Jonathan Gilling with 11:55 to go in the first half, the Blue Jays led 27-9 and the game looked to be out of reach. But to the Sun Devils’ credit, they fought back and got to within six points with just about 12 minutes to go in the contest.

Noted: Creighton’s bench outscored ASU’s 28-8.

The Blue Jays never trailed in the game.

ASU center Jordan Bachynski, who was leading the nation in blocked shots with 6.5 per game entering the contest, didn’t have a block in 21 minutes of playing time Saturday. In fact, there was only one blocked shot in the game, and that belonged to ASU reserve forward Kenny Martin in the closing minutes.

The last time Bachynski didn’t have a blocked shot was last March 23 in a 66-57 loss to UCLA.

Up next: The Sun Devils return home for their next six contests, starting with a date against Arkansas-Pine Bluff Wednesday night at Wells Fargo Arena.