Bachynski, Carson, Marshall wrap ASU careers by leading team in scoring

Arizona State’s three leading scorers Thursday night in an 87-85 loss to Texas won’t be back in Tempe next season when the season tips off.

The trio — sophomore guard Jahii Carson, senior center Jordan Bachynski and senior guard Jermaine Marshall — will be elsewhere, probably playing basketball in a different uniform.

Against Texas in the Round of 64 in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, Bachynski, Carson and Marshall carried their team to the finish line, but the Sun Devils failed to cross it when they got there, losing a lead with under a minute left and falling to the Longhorns on a buzzer beater.

It wasn’t from a lack of effort, especially not from ASU’s three stars, who combined for 61 of the team’s 85 points.

Bachynski led the way, coming one point shy of his career-high scoring total, notching 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting on Thursday, while hitting 9 of his 12 free throws. He added seven rebounds and a block to the performance.

The 7-foot-2 Canadian finishes his college career with 943 total points in a Sun Devils uniform — a mark eclipsed by his mammoth 313 career blocked shots, which are good for the Pac-12’s all-time block record. Bachynski also holds the single-season honor in that category. His seven rebounds Thursday gave him 644 career rebounds at ASU.

“I haven’t really had time to reflect yet,” Bachynski said after the game.

“It was a tough one.”

His teammate, Carson, meanwhile tallied 19 points in the effort — just above his scoring averages of the past two seasons spent in a Sun Devils uniform, 18.5 and 18.6 points per game, respectively.

Carson dished nine assists on the night, bringing his career total to 321 in two undergraduate years as the ASU point guard. The Mesa, Ariz. native scored 1,242 points in a Sun Devil uniform.

Finally, Marshall — a summer transfer to coach Herb Sendek’s Sun Devils, formerly of Penn State University — capped off a stellar senior year by scoring 17 on 6-of-11 shooting in the finale.

Marshall averaged 15.0 points per game in 2013-14 and was a big-time three-point threat, averaging 2.5 threes per game and converting them at a 40 percent rate. On Thursday, the 6-foot-4 guard hit four of his eight three-point attempts while grabbing a season-high seven rebounds.

And Shaquielle McKissic, who spent just one season in Tempe, scored nine points on 3-of-7 shooting while pulling down six rebounds and dishing out three assists.

“Ultimately, I’m very proud of our men,” ASU coach Sendek said following the game.