Arizona State couldn't find shots to fall late as Vanderbilt sealed the game from the charity stripe. The No. 18 Sun Devils (8-2) fell,81-65, to the Commodores (7-2) and split their SEC road trip after defeating Georgia just two days ago.
"It's a good sign that we were actually in a one-possession game, just the way we played on the offensive end tonight," said Bobby Hurley.
It's evident that the team coached by Hurley will compete to the final buzzer. On Monday, it was Rob Edwards and Kimani Lawrence who showed that through their resiliency.
The duo erased a three-minute scoring drought with back-to-back triples that cut the Commodore lead to 62-59 with just 3:54 to play.
Edwards took a step in the right direction since coming back from injury, scoring a season and team-high 14 points while adding three assists. The Cleveland State transfer hit as many field goals as he had in his previous three games with ASU and looks to find the offensive success had at CSU (16.5 PPG).
"Rob had some nice moments, especially in the second half when we needed a spark and someone to step up and put some points on the board for us," said Hurley. "He'll have a few more days of practice, and I hope for him to continue to build upon what he's doing."
A steadfast 7-0 response backed by Vandy's Joe Toye gave the home team the breathing room they needed.
In the loss, the Sun Devils received a late-season test early on their schedule from their coach: A simulated Pac-12 road trip against two solid SEC opponents.
"Not many people would do this… I hope that it pays off when we have to reach deep in Pac-12 play and play two games in three days on the road somewhere," said Hurley. "I hope we'll benefit from it in that way."
After trailing for 15 minutes in the first half, Vanderbilt paced themselves with three-point shooting. The Commodores shot 12-28 from three and had five players in double figures behind Saben Lee (14) and Yanni Wetzell (12).
"I just know they are well coached, they're disciplined, they move the ball well, and they defend with energy," said Hurley. "They got great bench contributions from a number of guys."
Vanderbilt ended the first half on an 18-3 run after the Sun Devils led by nine early.
"That was an issue," said Hurley.
After drawing concern early in the season, free-throws were not an issue tonight for Arizona State. They hit 16-of-20 from the line and hung around behind their +6 offensive rebound margin.
Luguentz Dort scored 10, joining Edwards as the two in double figures for ASU on a tough shooting night. As a team, Sparky shot 32.3 percent from the field and connected on seven triples on 24 attempts.
"I think at times I think we wanted to win the game in a minute or one possession," said Zylan Cheatham. "If you know basketball, it doesn't work like that. We have to do a better job."
The Arizona State men's basketball team returns home to host No. 1 Kansas on Saturday, Dec. 22 at Wells Fargo Arena. Tip-off from Tempe, AZ is slated for 7 p.m. and can be viewed on ESPN2 and heard on ESPN Radio 620 AM.
"It's a good sign that we were actually in a one-possession game, just the way we played on the offensive end tonight," said Bobby Hurley.
It's evident that the team coached by Hurley will compete to the final buzzer. On Monday, it was Rob Edwards and Kimani Lawrence who showed that through their resiliency.
The duo erased a three-minute scoring drought with back-to-back triples that cut the Commodore lead to 62-59 with just 3:54 to play.
Edwards took a step in the right direction since coming back from injury, scoring a season and team-high 14 points while adding three assists. The Cleveland State transfer hit as many field goals as he had in his previous three games with ASU and looks to find the offensive success had at CSU (16.5 PPG).
"Rob had some nice moments, especially in the second half when we needed a spark and someone to step up and put some points on the board for us," said Hurley. "He'll have a few more days of practice, and I hope for him to continue to build upon what he's doing."
A steadfast 7-0 response backed by Vandy's Joe Toye gave the home team the breathing room they needed.
In the loss, the Sun Devils received a late-season test early on their schedule from their coach: A simulated Pac-12 road trip against two solid SEC opponents.
"Not many people would do this… I hope that it pays off when we have to reach deep in Pac-12 play and play two games in three days on the road somewhere," said Hurley. "I hope we'll benefit from it in that way."
After trailing for 15 minutes in the first half, Vanderbilt paced themselves with three-point shooting. The Commodores shot 12-28 from three and had five players in double figures behind Saben Lee (14) and Yanni Wetzell (12).
"I just know they are well coached, they're disciplined, they move the ball well, and they defend with energy," said Hurley. "They got great bench contributions from a number of guys."
Vanderbilt ended the first half on an 18-3 run after the Sun Devils led by nine early.
"That was an issue," said Hurley.
After drawing concern early in the season, free-throws were not an issue tonight for Arizona State. They hit 16-of-20 from the line and hung around behind their +6 offensive rebound margin.
Luguentz Dort scored 10, joining Edwards as the two in double figures for ASU on a tough shooting night. As a team, Sparky shot 32.3 percent from the field and connected on seven triples on 24 attempts.
"I think at times I think we wanted to win the game in a minute or one possession," said Zylan Cheatham. "If you know basketball, it doesn't work like that. We have to do a better job."
The Arizona State men's basketball team returns home to host No. 1 Kansas on Saturday, Dec. 22 at Wells Fargo Arena. Tip-off from Tempe, AZ is slated for 7 p.m. and can be viewed on ESPN2 and heard on ESPN Radio 620 AM.