Sun Devils ‘gut out’ win over San Francisco to remain unbeaten
Dec 2, 2017, 11:05 PM | Updated: 11:39 pm
San Francisco center Erik Poulsen, left, and Arizona State guard Kodi Justice (44) battle for a loose ball in the second half during an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Dec 2, 2017, in Tempe, Ariz. Arizona State defeated San Francisco 75-57. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
TEMPE, Ariz. — Although No. 20 Arizona State failed to reach the 90-point mark for the first time all season, the Sun Devils moved to 7-0 for the first time since the 1980, defeating the San Francisco Dons Saturday night.
And while they didn’t score 90, 75 is still pretty close.
The Dons were the first to get on the board, but it was the Sun Devils who got the last laugh, taking home the 75-57 win over the Dons in front of a crowd of 8,682.
“There aren’t many teams that are in our position at this point of the year,” ASU head coach Bobby Hurley said. “We haven’t just stayed at home and played a bunch of bye games, we’ve gone out and we played good teams and we’ve proven that we belong where we are and everyday there are more teams that are losing and there are less teams out there that haven’t had a loss.”
Behind senior guard Kodi Justice, the Sun Devils picked up where they left off the game before, going on a 16-0 run over seven minutes to get out ahead of the Dons in the first half. Justice ended the half with 12 points, shooting 5-of-7 from the floor – 2-of-3 from long range.
In the second half, the Devils struggled early to find their rhythm, recording numerous turnovers.
“When you play at this level and you’re not always going to play your cleanest or best game on offense and you’ve got to be able to rely on the energy that you play with at both sides of the floor.”
But thanks to ASU’s stingy defense, it was a quick fix for head coach Bobby Hurley as the team found its stride again, putting up 35 second-half points and closing out the game.
THE GOOD
Redshirt freshman Romello White dominated down low for the Sun Devils. In his sixth game as a Sun Devil, White posted his third double-double of the season, scoring 16 points and grabbing 13 boards in the process.
“It gives me life, it makes me just want to go harder at them,” White said on playing a team that isn’t as strong defensively in the post. “If I feel like they aren’t really good in the post, not really good at defending, I just tell them ‘look for me.’”
It wasn’t just White dominating down low either.
As a team, ASU won the rebounding battle 46-34 over San Francisco and took a 34-12 advantage over the Dons in points in the paint.
THE BAD
Turnovers plagued the Sun Devils, especially in the second half. In a three-minute stretch, ASU turned it over six times. The Dons capitalized on those mistakes, scoring 17 points off of the home team’s turnovers.
The team’s shooting percentage from long range and the free throw line also took a hit.
The Devils only connected on 4-of-13 from the three-point line, posting their worst percentage (30.8) since the first game of the season (30.0). The team’s free throw attempts weren’t the greatest either as they only made 25-of-36 (69.4 percent).
STAT OF THE NIGHT
27: The largest lead of the night came in the first half when the Sun Devils took a 27-point lead of the Dons. ASU freshman guard Remy Martin provided an added spark on both sides on the court as they extended the lead in the first half.
HE SAID IT
“They gutted it out down there, especially early I thought we were playing really fast and we were using our speed on defense and speeding them up some and even the open shots that they had early in the game were after they had to work through pressure on a possession”
— Hurley on his team’s defense
UP NEXT
The Sun Devils (7-0) will travel to Los Angeles to take on the St. John’s Red Storm (7-1) in the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic at Staples Center.
“We expect a big game,” Hurley said. “It’s two teams that are striving to be tournament teams and we’ll have a good week to prepare and get ready.”
