Arizona State basketball falls to San Diego from 2nd half woes

Arizona State (6-3) lost its first true road game of the year 89-84 to San Diego (7-4), but the Sun Devils may have found a shooter from deep off the bench.

Gilbert High School alumni and Houston Christian transfer Brycen Long had played just seven total minutes for ASU coming into the game, but he played 18 minutes in the loss, hitting all four of his 3s and adding two steals.

After taking nearly three-and-a-half minutes to get on the board, the Sun Devils offense was working well, starting with a 22-11 lead after eight minutes. A 7-0 run shortly thereafter gave ASU its largest lead of the contest, 12 points with five minutes left in the half.

As the offense stagnated in the second half, the San Diego offense picked up, slowly chipping away at the ASU lead.

With 6:18 left, the Sun Devils clung to a 71-65 lead but because of poor defense and shot selection, it quickly became 78-71 with San Diego in front. ASU tied it at 83 before a few more mistakes clinched the game for San Diego.

Long’s lone points in the final 10 minutes only came at the free throw line, and ASU went cold from deep, despite finishing above 40% on the night. Jamiya Neal led the Sun Devils with a career-high 20 points, including 5-of-8 from deep.

Deuce Turner and P.J. Hayes each finished with 23 points and five made 3s to lead the way for San Diego.