By Lindsay Gaesser, SDA Media Relations
Tempe, Ariz.—Led by senior Shaquielle McKissic’s 16 points and 6 rebounds, the Arizona State men’s basketball team (9-9, 1-4) edged out Colorado (9-8, 2-3), 78-72, Saturday afternoon in a nail-biting 40 minutes of basketball.
Shaking off Thursday night’s loss to No. 8 Utah, the Sun Devils looked like a different squad on the court. A well-oiled machine, ASU assisted on 20 of 26 buckets, had five players posting double digits, and drained 10 from downtown. Senior Bo Barnes netted 13 points and was 4-of-6 from three-point range. Junior Gerry Blakes posted 12 points for the day, while junior Eric Jacobsen and freshman Tra Holder both notched 10 points.
“The difference today is that we made shots,” said ASU head coach Herb Sendek. “It’s amazing what that does. Bo got hot in the second half and we shot 71 percent. Quite frankly, I don’t think the shots are any different than any of the shots we took in the games we didn’t win. Today, the ball went in the basket.”
Despite the high-octane finish, both teams took a while to get their engines going. In the first 10 minutes, ASU shot .333 from the field and was 2-of-5 from beyond the arc, while Colorado shot .417.
After tying the game at 10, the Sun Devils suffered a five-minute scoring drought. Jacobsen ended the drought with a layup, which Blakes followed-up with a three-pointer to put the Devils back on top.
The final five minutes of the half were a back-and-forth battle with two ties and four lead changes. An alley-oop dunk by McKissic from Barnes and a Barnes three-pointer gave ASU its largest lead of the half. But it was short-lived as the Buffaloes took advantage of three Sun Devil turnovers in three minutes to regain the lead.
With less than five seconds on the clock, Colorado led ASU 28-27. Barnes forced a Buffalo turnover with two seconds remaining, and McKissic went coast to coast for the buzzer-beating dunk. ASU hit the locker room at half with a 29-28 lead.
“It started off kind of rough,” said McKissic of his game. “Once I got the dunk where Bo tossed me the alley-oop though, my juices got flowing. I got more steals and rebounds, and it felt really good.”
“I’ve been working with him on that extensively, and I’m glad to see something that I’ve been doing pay some dividends,” said Sendek of McKissic’s four dunks against the Buffs. “The fans love it, people love it, and today he had a couple that were kind of breathtaking. He’s a great athlete and he is at his best when he’s attacking the basket.”
The battle for the lead continued into the second half—the first 13 minutes saw six ties and 10 more lead changes.
The Sun Devils began to pull away with less than 10 minutes on the clock, going 6-for-6 in a five-minute stretch that included four from beyond the arc. On a hot streak, Barnes knocked down three from downtown, while senior Jonathan Gilling netted a trey of his own.
“They were huge,” said McKissic of Barnes’ three pointers. “Bo and I played the shooting game yesterday, and he dragged me up and down the court. To make all of the shots he took today, he shot them with great confidence. To see guys making plays like that, it keeps your morale high.”
Although the Buffaloes made a late surge, cutting the deficit to two points with 4:12 remaining, it was not enough to overcome the Sun Devils. In the final minutes, ASU made 11-of-15 from the free throw line, holding on for the 78-72 win.
“We were making shots,” said Sendek of ASU’s second half performance. “We were executing on offense. We were 15-21 in the second half and we were getting good shots.”
“If we bring that type of energy every game anything can happen,” said McKissic of the win. “Of course we have to get better offensively and defensively as well, as far as knowing assignments. But it’s a really good feeling to know you got a win going into Cal next week.”
Next up, the Sun Devils hit the road to play California on Thursday, Jan. 22, at 9:00 p.m. MST, followed by Stanford on Saturday, Jan. 24, at 10:00 p.m. MST. Both games will be televised live on Pac-12 Networks.