ORLANDO, FL. – The Arizona State men's basketball team fell on the road to Davidson 68-60 to close play at the Tire Pros Invitational, Sunday afternoon.
Pacing the Maroon and Gold junior guard Tra Holder scored 18, while adding a team-best eight rebounds.
"I thought that it would translate to a win if you told me we would hold them to 68, but the results weren't there because we didn't make shots," said head coach Bobby Hurley. "I took a lot of positives out of today's game because of how we defended and our activity."
Four Sun Devils scored in double-figures including the aforementioned Holder. Holder's backcourt counterpart Shannon Evans II notched a quality outing, scoring 13 while dishing a team-best seven assists.
Freshman standout Sam Cunliffe recorded his second-consecutive double-figure outing, posting a career-high 11 points. Senior forward Obinna Oleka nearly finished the contest with a double-double, adding 11 points and eight rebounds.
The Sun Devils struggled throughout the game on the offensive end, closing the outing shooting 32.4 percent (22-68) from the field, 30 percent (9-30) from beyond the arc, and 53.8 percent (7-13) from the charity stripe.
Davidson who finished shooting 41.3 percent (19-46) from the field won the battle on the boards 44-35. Despite being outrebounded, the Sun Devils operated effectively in the low post, outscoring Davidson 24-20 in points in the paint, while tallying 13 second-chance points on 12 offensive boards.
Despite trailing 31-22 at half, and facing as much as an 18-point deficit with 14:58 remaining the Sun Devils refused to go away easy down the stretch. Mounting a 16-6 run beginning at the 8:53 mark capped by a Holder transition three, the Maroon and Gold trimmed the deficit to seven, 59-52. After a five-point turnaround in favor of Davidson, the Sun Devils once again chewed into the Wildcats lead, drawing within four, 64-60, courtesy of a Cunliffe bucket, followed by a pair of threes from Oleka and Evans II. Despite a valiant effort on part of Hurley's squad, Davidson garnering the victory late at the charity stripe.
Pacing the Maroon and Gold junior guard Tra Holder scored 18, while adding a team-best eight rebounds.
"I thought that it would translate to a win if you told me we would hold them to 68, but the results weren't there because we didn't make shots," said head coach Bobby Hurley. "I took a lot of positives out of today's game because of how we defended and our activity."
Four Sun Devils scored in double-figures including the aforementioned Holder. Holder's backcourt counterpart Shannon Evans II notched a quality outing, scoring 13 while dishing a team-best seven assists.
Freshman standout Sam Cunliffe recorded his second-consecutive double-figure outing, posting a career-high 11 points. Senior forward Obinna Oleka nearly finished the contest with a double-double, adding 11 points and eight rebounds.
The Sun Devils struggled throughout the game on the offensive end, closing the outing shooting 32.4 percent (22-68) from the field, 30 percent (9-30) from beyond the arc, and 53.8 percent (7-13) from the charity stripe.
Davidson who finished shooting 41.3 percent (19-46) from the field won the battle on the boards 44-35. Despite being outrebounded, the Sun Devils operated effectively in the low post, outscoring Davidson 24-20 in points in the paint, while tallying 13 second-chance points on 12 offensive boards.
Despite trailing 31-22 at half, and facing as much as an 18-point deficit with 14:58 remaining the Sun Devils refused to go away easy down the stretch. Mounting a 16-6 run beginning at the 8:53 mark capped by a Holder transition three, the Maroon and Gold trimmed the deficit to seven, 59-52. After a five-point turnaround in favor of Davidson, the Sun Devils once again chewed into the Wildcats lead, drawing within four, 64-60, courtesy of a Cunliffe bucket, followed by a pair of threes from Oleka and Evans II. Despite a valiant effort on part of Hurley's squad, Davidson garnering the victory late at the charity stripe.
Up next, the Sun Devils return home to host Citadel in a weekday matinee, Wednesday (Nov. 23) at 2 p.m. MT. Wednesday's matchup, will represents the Sun Devils' first ever meeting with the Southern Conference affiliate. The game will be televised via Pac-12 Networks. Tim Healey and Kyle Dodd will have the radio call on ESPN Phoenix 620 AM.O. Oleka drives the lane and slams home the one handed Dunk just before halftime: 1H (0:36) ASU Obinna Oleka made… https://t.co/2XTDGfkLLb
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