TEMPE, Ariz. - Desmond Cambridge Jr. remained the constant, scoring 19 points to lead three Sun Devils in double figures en-route to a 68-64 victory over the Stanford Cardinal at Desert Financial Arena Sunday night.
Warren Washington snatched 10 rebounds and contributed seven points for ASU. Devan Cambridge (12) and Frankie Collins (11) were the other two Sun Devils to put double digit scoring totals.
Arizona State held a double-digit lead in the first half before Stanford mounted a run, at one point taking the lead late in the second half. ASU regained control in time to improve to 2-0 in conference play for the first time since the 2012-13 campaign.
KEY MOMENTS
After four brother-brother connections against Colorado, Desmond Cambridge Jr. found Devan Cambridge on a fastbreak for a slam at 19:03. On the immediate possession, Desmond Jr. cashed in a triple from Frankie Collins to put Arizona State ahead, 5-2 with 18:38 left in the half.
Washington then dropped in a layup to give ASU three consecutive makes. The Sun Devils made five of their first seven field goal attempts into the first media timeout.
DJ Horne drilled a mid range jumper with 14:36 on the clock and the Sun Devils immediately followed with a steal. It capped a Sun Devil 6-2 scoring stretch over 3:11.
From a layup at 16:49, Stanford went until 13:23 without a basket until a three pointer cut the Sun Devil lead to four, 13-9. In a 4:34 timespan in between media timeouts, the Sun Devil defense clamped down, forcing five Cardinal turnovers.
Frankie Collins used a ball-screen at the top of the key at 10:39, drew the defense and lobbed a pass up to Washington for a loud dunk. Two free throws by Desmond Jr. put ASU ahead by nine, 21-12 with 10:09 to play, marking a 7-0 run for Arizona State in :47.
Washington found Jamiya Neal for his first points on a wide open cut to the basket with 3:01 to play. Washington immediately forced a hustle turnover, Stanford's ninth.
DJ Horne erased a fast break layup for Stanford, earning a roar from the Sun Devil faithful with 1:44 left in the half. Neal then chased in a trey with 1:03 to put ASU ahead 11, 32-21.
The Sun Devils entered the break leading by nine, 32-21.
SECOND HALF
Desmond Jr. forced a steal on the opening possession of the second half and Collins dropped in a layup, extending the Sun Devil lead to 13.
After a Stanford basket, Collins found his way near the rim and put the ball in the bottom of the net on a funky layup with 18:04 left in regulation, putting ASU ahead by 11, 36-25.
Desmond Jr. snapped a 3:23 scoring drought with a basket at 10:41, but Stanford responded with a triple on the ensuing possession and cut the lead to one.
Devan Cambridge bullied his way into the paint for a layup with 10:02 left in the game and Washington loudly rejected the next Cardinal shot. On the following Sun Devil possession, Washington was triple-teamed in the post before finding Devan Cambridge cutting in from the baseline for a dunk with 9:35 to go, putting ASU ahead 44-39.
Following a Stanford bucket, Desmond Cambridge Jr. drilled a triple from the top of the key, putting ASU up six at 8:38.
The Cardinal took the lead, 51-50 from the charity strip with 5:27 left in the game. Washington knotted the game at 51.
With 4:38 to go, Desmond Jr. made an off-balance layup to put the Sun Devils ahead by two, 53-51. Arizona State then forced a backcourt violation on press defense to regain possession. Desmond Jr. then kept the ball on a pick and roll to float in a basket, putting ASU back ahead by four, 55-51 with 4:10 on the clock.
The squads traded blows before Washington found a streaking Collins with 3:11 on the clock to put ASU ahead 59-53. Tight defense forced an airball from beyond the arc with 2:05 left in the game.
Arizona State Men's Basketball Head Coach Bobby Hurley
Opening statement:
"We kind of grinded that game out with Stanford coming off of their loss against UCLA and you never want to go 0-2 in the first two games of the season so we know that they would play really hard. My main issue is that if you're upset about a game that you want a lead play, in which you shouldn't, is the two turnovers. In the first half, we kind of lost our way and had some poor turnovers in the second half… we weren't working to get open, we were stealing, and we were kind of giving away points more often, but our defense was a lot better. I like how sometimes when you lose a lead, and then pressure is added and you don't know if you can shake it, but the guys recovered and made some good plays to pull it off."
On what makes this team unique:
"When you can keep fresh bodies on the court, I think we had one guy out there for 30 minutes… when you're able to get guys out there who can sustain a few minutes of high level, high energy, and then you bring someone else in to do the same thing, you're going to have a consistent effort. Through out the summer and before the season started, I saw Desmond Cambridge Jr. jumping passing lanes and I was getting mad, because we were trying to run and execute and blowing everything up, and it was happening to me all summer. Fortunately for us, he's now doing it to other people."
Arizona State Guard Desmond Cambridge Jr.:
On having the "green light" to shoot…
"That's a hard question for me personally, because I might shoot some questionable shots sometimes. But I feel like that's Coach Hurley's identity at this school. I really like that personally. As long as you play defense you're fine. We have freedom but we still have structure."
On not panicking…
"I got two fouls at the start of the second half so I was watching when they started to come back. I was just sitting there fuming. You see I am very energized. Then I came in and hit those two shots and you can see how I provide that spark."
Arizona State Forward Warren Washington
On what was different with rebounding tonight:
"I feel like its different every game because some teams shoot a lot, some games it can be a lot of rebounds. Sometimes there's just an extra emphasis on guys going to the glass, so I felt like today honestly as a team, as a collective, we really focused on that aspect of the game. Last year I watched the film and it seemed like we were outrebounded playing them, so I feel like coach really wanted to put an extra emphasis on it and I felt like we executed it really well on the defensive end and boards in general."
On team "grinding it out":
"Playing for someone like Bobby, he is just tough minded, just a competitor in general. He always preaches to us that you can't depend on scoring and you can't look at scoring as something to judge whether you played good or not. So, I felt like we all just want to win and to win we gotta play defense, defense wins championships. So I felt like we were just following the blueprint that Bobby planned for us."
NOTABLES
Warren Washington snatched 10 rebounds and contributed seven points for ASU. Devan Cambridge (12) and Frankie Collins (11) were the other two Sun Devils to put double digit scoring totals.
Arizona State held a double-digit lead in the first half before Stanford mounted a run, at one point taking the lead late in the second half. ASU regained control in time to improve to 2-0 in conference play for the first time since the 2012-13 campaign.
KEY MOMENTS
- The Sun Devil offense went on a 6-2 scoring stretch over 3:11 from 17:47 - 14:36
- Stanford was held without a basket for nearly seven minutes from 11:11 to 4:24, including missing 10 straight baskets.
- After the Cardinal mounted a comeback, ASU went on a 14-4 scoring stretch over 4:27 from 5:27 - :50 to pull ahead for good.
- Arizona State ended the game hitting five of their last six shots from the floor, including a massive triple from Frankie Collins with :50 left in regulation to put ASU ahead by nine, 64-55.
After four brother-brother connections against Colorado, Desmond Cambridge Jr. found Devan Cambridge on a fastbreak for a slam at 19:03. On the immediate possession, Desmond Jr. cashed in a triple from Frankie Collins to put Arizona State ahead, 5-2 with 18:38 left in the half.
Washington then dropped in a layup to give ASU three consecutive makes. The Sun Devils made five of their first seven field goal attempts into the first media timeout.
DJ Horne drilled a mid range jumper with 14:36 on the clock and the Sun Devils immediately followed with a steal. It capped a Sun Devil 6-2 scoring stretch over 3:11.
From a layup at 16:49, Stanford went until 13:23 without a basket until a three pointer cut the Sun Devil lead to four, 13-9. In a 4:34 timespan in between media timeouts, the Sun Devil defense clamped down, forcing five Cardinal turnovers.
Frankie Collins used a ball-screen at the top of the key at 10:39, drew the defense and lobbed a pass up to Washington for a loud dunk. Two free throws by Desmond Jr. put ASU ahead by nine, 21-12 with 10:09 to play, marking a 7-0 run for Arizona State in :47.
ASU moved into a double-digit advantage for the first time after a Devan Cambridge layup with 7:01 left in the stanza.Can't do it any better ??@Frankiecollins0 and @5warrenw execute a perfect alley-oop ??
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) December 5, 2022
?? @ESPN
?? https://t.co/PumF7U104p pic.twitter.com/vqJpJmHtKT
Washington found Jamiya Neal for his first points on a wide open cut to the basket with 3:01 to play. Washington immediately forced a hustle turnover, Stanford's ninth.
DJ Horne erased a fast break layup for Stanford, earning a roar from the Sun Devil faithful with 1:44 left in the half. Neal then chased in a trey with 1:03 to put ASU ahead 11, 32-21.
The Sun Devils entered the break leading by nine, 32-21.
SECOND HALF
Desmond Jr. forced a steal on the opening possession of the second half and Collins dropped in a layup, extending the Sun Devil lead to 13.
After a Stanford basket, Collins found his way near the rim and put the ball in the bottom of the net on a funky layup with 18:04 left in regulation, putting ASU ahead by 11, 36-25.
Duke Brennan sent away a Cardinal layup for his first block of the game at 15:05 and Luther Muhammad grabbed the rebound. Two possessions later, Austin Nunez dropped in a floater at 14:03. Stanford had been on a run but the bucket extended the Sun Devil lead to four, 38-34.How did @Frankiecollins0 do this? ??
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) December 5, 2022
He somehow gets the layup to go from a tough angle
?? @ESPN
?? https://t.co/PumF7U104p pic.twitter.com/P4WBeBxSfY
Desmond Jr. snapped a 3:23 scoring drought with a basket at 10:41, but Stanford responded with a triple on the ensuing possession and cut the lead to one.
Devan Cambridge bullied his way into the paint for a layup with 10:02 left in the game and Washington loudly rejected the next Cardinal shot. On the following Sun Devil possession, Washington was triple-teamed in the post before finding Devan Cambridge cutting in from the baseline for a dunk with 9:35 to go, putting ASU ahead 44-39.
Following a Stanford bucket, Desmond Cambridge Jr. drilled a triple from the top of the key, putting ASU up six at 8:38.
The Cardinal took the lead, 51-50 from the charity strip with 5:27 left in the game. Washington knotted the game at 51.
With 4:38 to go, Desmond Jr. made an off-balance layup to put the Sun Devils ahead by two, 53-51. Arizona State then forced a backcourt violation on press defense to regain possession. Desmond Jr. then kept the ball on a pick and roll to float in a basket, putting ASU back ahead by four, 55-51 with 4:10 on the clock.
The squads traded blows before Washington found a streaking Collins with 3:11 on the clock to put ASU ahead 59-53. Tight defense forced an airball from beyond the arc with 2:05 left in the game.
Collins drained a triple with :50 left in the game, to put Arizona State ahead by nine. The Cardinal would make a late run at it, forcing a steal off the inbound and hitting a trey with :16 left, but turned the ball over on the inbound, sealing the victory.WHAT. A. POSSESION.@SunDevilHoops comes through with a huge stop on defense!
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) December 5, 2022
?? @ESPN
?? https://t.co/PumF7U104p pic.twitter.com/nWfBFYsww3
QUOTABLESEXCLAMATION POINT?
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) December 5, 2022
°@Frankiecollins0 comes through ??
?? @ESPN
?? https://t.co/PumF7U104p pic.twitter.com/Vz1UcrOnRo
Arizona State Men's Basketball Head Coach Bobby Hurley
Opening statement:
"We kind of grinded that game out with Stanford coming off of their loss against UCLA and you never want to go 0-2 in the first two games of the season so we know that they would play really hard. My main issue is that if you're upset about a game that you want a lead play, in which you shouldn't, is the two turnovers. In the first half, we kind of lost our way and had some poor turnovers in the second half… we weren't working to get open, we were stealing, and we were kind of giving away points more often, but our defense was a lot better. I like how sometimes when you lose a lead, and then pressure is added and you don't know if you can shake it, but the guys recovered and made some good plays to pull it off."
On what makes this team unique:
"When you can keep fresh bodies on the court, I think we had one guy out there for 30 minutes… when you're able to get guys out there who can sustain a few minutes of high level, high energy, and then you bring someone else in to do the same thing, you're going to have a consistent effort. Through out the summer and before the season started, I saw Desmond Cambridge Jr. jumping passing lanes and I was getting mad, because we were trying to run and execute and blowing everything up, and it was happening to me all summer. Fortunately for us, he's now doing it to other people."
Arizona State Guard Desmond Cambridge Jr.:
On having the "green light" to shoot…
"That's a hard question for me personally, because I might shoot some questionable shots sometimes. But I feel like that's Coach Hurley's identity at this school. I really like that personally. As long as you play defense you're fine. We have freedom but we still have structure."
On not panicking…
"I got two fouls at the start of the second half so I was watching when they started to come back. I was just sitting there fuming. You see I am very energized. Then I came in and hit those two shots and you can see how I provide that spark."
Arizona State Forward Warren Washington
On what was different with rebounding tonight:
"I feel like its different every game because some teams shoot a lot, some games it can be a lot of rebounds. Sometimes there's just an extra emphasis on guys going to the glass, so I felt like today honestly as a team, as a collective, we really focused on that aspect of the game. Last year I watched the film and it seemed like we were outrebounded playing them, so I feel like coach really wanted to put an extra emphasis on it and I felt like we executed it really well on the defensive end and boards in general."
On team "grinding it out":
"Playing for someone like Bobby, he is just tough minded, just a competitor in general. He always preaches to us that you can't depend on scoring and you can't look at scoring as something to judge whether you played good or not. So, I felt like we all just want to win and to win we gotta play defense, defense wins championships. So I felt like we were just following the blueprint that Bobby planned for us."
NOTABLES
- The win moves Arizona State to 8-1, the best eight game start since the 2018-19 season, when the Sun Devils were also 8-1. That Sun Devil squad went 23-11 (12-6) and automatically qualified for the NCAA tournament.
- Get down the floor and work the ball inside; Arizona State has won or drawn seven of the last eight battles in points in the paint. Tonight, they led 36-28 in the paint. The only even draw came against No. 20 Michigan at the Barclays Center.
- He can see through walls, maybe literally. Frankie Collins has led or tied for the Sun Devil assist lead in all eight games he's played this season after dishing five dimes against the Cardinal.
- Desmond Cambridge Jr. has a career high five steals. He had four in the last contest against Colorado, tying his previous best from his days with the Nevada Wolfpack.
- The ASU defense continued to be as advertised, holding the Cardinal just 23-64 (36%) from the floor. The Cardinal shot 6-27 (22.2%) from three point distance.
- On that front, opponents are shooting 47-187 (25%) overall from three point range against ASU including 20-84 (23.8%) in the first half.
- ASU held Stanford to just 7-28 (25%) from the floor in the first half. The Cardinal committed nine turnovers, tied for the second most by a Sun Devil opponent in the first half this season (Texas Southern/12, Grambling State/9).
- A key for the Sun Devils down the stretch was rebounding. ASU out-rebound Stanford 41-37, marking the first time Arizona State out-rebounded an opponent in four games.
- Tonight was the first time all season - with the exception of the season opener because there was no leading scorer - that the Sun Devils allowed more points to an opponent leading scorer than their season average. Spencer Jones scored 13 after previously averaging 11.7, but was held five points below his season high of 18.
- Arizona State has dished the ball exceptionally well this season, totaling 15 assists against Stanford. In back to back games vs. Alcorn State and Grambling, the Sun Devils had 80% of its FGM come from assists. In the last 129 games, ASU had just one game where 80% or more of its FGM came off an assist.
- The Sun Devils have 72 total assists in the last four games, averaging 18 per contest in the stretch.
- ASU improves to 42-52 all-time against the Cardinal.
- Arizona State is now 2-0 in Pac-12 play for the first time since the 2012-13 campaign and the fifth time in program history (2021-22, 2007-08, 1987-88, 1979-80).
- The Sun Devils have won the last four matchups with the Cardinal at home and nine of the last 13 total.
- Arizona State improves to 5-0 at home.