TEMPE – Sun Devil Men's Basketball never trailed in a wire-to-wire 78-61 victory over Sam Houston State Wednesday night at Desert Financial Arena.
Defense turned into offense for Arizona State (4-2) as the 28 fast-break points and 18 points off turnovers were key factors in the 17-point victory over the Bearkats. ASU held the opposition to their lowest point total of the season, limiting Sam Houston to just 35.3% shooting from the field while forcing 15+ turnovers for the fourth time in six games.
The Sun Devils enjoyed their third game this season with four players in double-figures, guided by Jose Perez's 24 points on an efficient 9-for-13 from the field. He added eight rebounds, three assists, and a block while impacting the game in many ways. Jamiya Neal had 14 points, added eight rebounds and tacked on a pair of assists. Frankie Collins and Alonzo Gaffney had 12 points apiece as part of an extremely balanced effort in the victory.
In the win, the Sun Devils managed to shoot 33-of-64 (51.6%) from the field, marking back-to-back games that they shot above 50%. The physicality of Arizona State was on display and it resulted in 50 points in the paint and 42 rebounds on the night.
KEY MOMENTS:
NOTABLES
FIRST HALF:
Alonzo Gaffney knocked down a pair of baskets to give ASU an early 4-0 lead before Sam Houston could cut the lead in half, 4-2 with 17:34 remaining in the half.
Jose Perez then scored three straight buckets to give the Sun Devils an 10-2 advantage over the Bearkats prior to the under-16 minute media timeout.
Frankie Collins proceeded with his first steal of the game en-route to his first basket of the contest, 12-4 Sun Devils at the 13:35 mark, shortly after a Bearkat bucket, Collins scarfed up his second steal then assisting Braelon Green making it 14-6 at the 11:56 mark. The junior then was able to get his third steal which led to a Jamiya neal basket, leading 16-6.
The Bearkats made two quick baskets, but Perez drained the first Sun Devil three, leading 19-10 halfway through the opening period. ASU would then score three straight baskets on the fast-break, extending their lead to 24-10.
Collins drained his first basket from beyond the arc followed by a Gaffney layup to give the Sun Devils a 29-12 lead with 5:23 remaining. The Bearkats would respond with a 7-0 span to force a Bobby Hurley timeout with 4:09 in the first half leading by 10.
Coming out of the timeout, Perez drained a corner jumper to stop the Bearkats momentum leading 31-19. After trading baskets the West Virginia transfer drained his fifth bucket of the game, 36-23.
Ending the half, Akil Watson swiped the sixth steal for the Sun Devils leading to a Perez layup, giving ASU a 38-25 lead heading into halftime.
SECOND HALF:
Coming out of halftime, Neal drove the lane for a layup putting the Sun Devils ahead 40-25. Neal added a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 17 before the Bearkats called their second timeout at the 18:10 mark.
ASU managed to hold Sam Houston scoreless for the first 3:41 of the half but after the quick layup, Perez found Gaffney in the fast break for an alley oop to wake up the Sun Devil faithful, leading 46-27 with 15:17 left.
After two swift buckets by Sam Houston, Watson knocked down a three from the right wing which started an 8-0 run for ASU, giving the Sun Devils 54-31 lead, the largest of the night.
Coming out of the under-12 timeout, back-to-back dunks by Neal and Gaffney kept the lead above 20 points at the nine-minute mark of regulation.
Playing with pace, Neal added four points to his stat sheet in a 24 second span to give the Sun Devils a 67-43 lead at the 8:20 mark.
Both teams traded baskets the next five minutes with Collins emphatically slamming home a dunk which put ASU ahead 74-52 with 3:01 remaining in the game.
UP NEXT:
Sun Devil Men's Basketball will stay at Desert Financial Arena and look to avenge last season's loss against San Francisco. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. MST and can be seen on Pac-12 Networks and can be heard on the radio waves on ESPN 620 AM with Tim Healey and Kyle Dodd on the call. Tickets for Sun Devil Men's Basketball 2023-24 non-conference games are on sale now. Visit the following link for more information. Conference games are available to purchase. Ticket packages start at just $90 and the home schedule features match-ups against top ranked USC, UCLA and Arizona. Season Tickets and Mini Plans are now available.
SUN DEVILS ON SOCIAL
For exclusive content, the latest updates, and more information on the Sun Devil Men's Basketball program, follow our Twitter/Instagram accounts (@SunDevilHoops), like our Facebook page (facebook.com/SunDevilHoops/), and visit our website (thesundevils.com). Make sure you are following Coach Hurley on Twitter @BobbyHurley11.
Arizona State Head Coach Bobby Hurley:
Opening Statement:
"We scrapped and battled tonight, proud of my team. This was a dangerous game. I was very concerned coming into this game considering the injury issues that we've had on the front court. We really competed, defensively. It was our best half in the first half of getting deflections and it got us in a position where we are getting stops and thought we might be able to run on Sam Houston in transition. They play very hard. We thought that might've been something that we could exploit. Fortunately, we have the stops that we're able to get some baskets in transition. It's fun to watch the guys play that way."
On if the win against Vanderbilt created momentum that carried towards this game:
"Overall, just feeling better. We're still finding ourselves, it's still not the entire way there. And as we hopefully add pieces that aren't available right now as we go over the next few weeks, I think we have a chance to incorporate those guys and then we'd have a chance. Shawn (Phillips Jr) right now, just getting him back and getting him healthy is gonna be important. I think some of the things that stood out for me in the game was again our bench, taking a step with Braelon's (Greens) defense and activity. Akil (Watson) just laying out on the floor for a loose ball is probably the best thing we did all night. Then Jamiya (Neal), eight defensive rebounds. If we have some limitations with our size and, to be just completely honest, I mean, they looked more like a power conference team in warm ups than we did. We compensated for not having that girth on the inside with just a lot of will and athletic ability. It was good to see the guys play with that type of energy on defense."
On the competitive nature and turning defense into offense:
"It's something that should be a strength of ours. We pressed a little bit early and wanted to see what they did with that and that worked pretty well. Once we were able to establish the advantage, I asked our team, what do you want to do? And they know, let's just sit down and keep getting stops. We stayed more in our man defense at that point, but I thought our defensive communication was very good for most of the game. It was a lot of switches on point and we do have a lot of guys that are kind of similar size that are interchangeable so we could switch the majority of things on defense with this team."
Arizona State Guard/Forward Jose Perez
On playing style working into the offense:
"Me adjusting to them and them adjusting to me. Playing with some talents and guards. I feel like they trust me enough. I came in two weeks and then they just trust me to make the right plays."
On playing well on a poor three-point percentage night:
"We're really good shooters. Everybody on the team can shoot from Frankie, to Jamiya, to Alonzo, to Kamari. We really have really good shooters. It's just a confidence thing I feel like. They're gonna start falling when it matters. I believe in this team and for all of us
On what has enabled them playing hard consistently
"BYU. BYU punched us in the mouth. No talking about it. They're a really good team, but we're a really good team I feel like, and we just haven't played up to our potential just yet. And I feel like BYU started that, showing us that we need to play hard on both ends."
Arizona State Guard Jamiya Neal
On if win against Vanderbilt brought momentum into this game:
"I think that win helped us a lot. It showed us some things we could do that could help us going forward and I think we capitalized on it."
On guards attacking the glass for 23 rebounds tonight
"We knew with Zane and Shawn out that we have to step up and we're all big athletic guards. So we knew that we could go in there and we had to really help Brian, Alonzo, and those guys in the paint. I think he (Jose) had eight rebounds. I had eight rebounds. I think Frank has six or seven. That's big. We just have to continue to do that every night."
On offense struggling:
"It's a long season. Just get 1% better every day, that's all we gotta do. We don't have to look our best right now. It's a very long season. So we're just trying to get 1% better every day."
Defense turned into offense for Arizona State (4-2) as the 28 fast-break points and 18 points off turnovers were key factors in the 17-point victory over the Bearkats. ASU held the opposition to their lowest point total of the season, limiting Sam Houston to just 35.3% shooting from the field while forcing 15+ turnovers for the fourth time in six games.
The Sun Devils enjoyed their third game this season with four players in double-figures, guided by Jose Perez's 24 points on an efficient 9-for-13 from the field. He added eight rebounds, three assists, and a block while impacting the game in many ways. Jamiya Neal had 14 points, added eight rebounds and tacked on a pair of assists. Frankie Collins and Alonzo Gaffney had 12 points apiece as part of an extremely balanced effort in the victory.
In the win, the Sun Devils managed to shoot 33-of-64 (51.6%) from the field, marking back-to-back games that they shot above 50%. The physicality of Arizona State was on display and it resulted in 50 points in the paint and 42 rebounds on the night.
KEY MOMENTS:
- Jose Perez scored six straight points for the Sun Devils in a 1:42 span as the Sun Devils jumped out to a 10-2 lead.
- A Jamiya Neal three kick-started a 13-2 run for the Sun Devils in 3:40 which gave the Sun Devils a 17-point lead in the first half.
- The Sun Devils held Sam Houston to 0 points in the first 4:43 of the second half, which kept ASU in control down the stretch.
- An 8-0 run from 14:50 to 10:37 was orchestrated by a pair of three's from Watson and Lands, and a Selebangue layup giving the Sun Devils a 23-point lead and putting the game away for good.
NOTABLES
- The Sun Devils held Sam Houston to 35.3% from the field (24-for-68) on the night. Since the start of the 2022 season, ASU is 17-5 when limiting opponents to less than 40% shooting.
- Jose Perez's 24 points is the second time this season he's reached the 20-point mark and the ninth in his collegiate career that he's had 20+ points, 5+ rebounds and 3 assists in a single game.
- In fact, it's only the second time in his career that he's had 20+ points, 5+ rebounds, 3+ assists while shooting 60% or better from the field.
- Frankie Collin's three steals tonight is the fourth game this season with 3+ steals in a game. Collins achieved the feat in just the first half of play tonight.
- The junior finished with 12 points tonight reaching double figures for the sixth straight time this season, tying a span where he had reached double-figures in six straight games between Jan. 26-Feb, 11 last season.
- It's Collins' eighth career game with 10+ points, 5+ rebounds and 5+ assists, the second time he's put up those numbers this season.
- The Sun Devils attacked the boards and snatched 23 rebounds in the first half, the most in a first half this season.
- The team snatched a total of 42 rebounds on the night, the second time this year the maroon & gold has eclipsed the 40+ mark.
- The Sun Devils held Sam Houston State to its lowest point total in a first half at 25 points.
- In fact, ASU held the Bearkats to a season low 61 points on the season.
- Jamiya Neal had 14 points and tallied eight rebounds on the night, the fifth-straight game reaching double figures, further extending his career-long streak.
- Neal's eight rebounds is the most in a game since Jan. 8, 2023 against Washington when he grabbed 12 against the Huskies.
- Alonzo Gaffney's three blocks is his third game this season with three more blocks, in fact it's his seventh career collegiate game with 3+ blocks.
- It's his second straight game with 10+ points and 3+ blocks on the night, having swatted seven blocks in the past two games combined which is tied for the most in a two-game span since Jan. 22, 2022–Jan. 24, 2022 against Stanford and USC.
- The Sun Devils played unselfish on their way to a season high of 19 assists on the night, accounting for 57.5% of the Sun Devil's field-goals.
- ASU had four players in double-digits, the third time this season to achieve the feat and the third time in the last four games to have four players reach double-figures.
FIRST HALF:
Alonzo Gaffney knocked down a pair of baskets to give ASU an early 4-0 lead before Sam Houston could cut the lead in half, 4-2 with 17:34 remaining in the half.
Jose Perez then scored three straight buckets to give the Sun Devils an 10-2 advantage over the Bearkats prior to the under-16 minute media timeout.
Frankie Collins proceeded with his first steal of the game en-route to his first basket of the contest, 12-4 Sun Devils at the 13:35 mark, shortly after a Bearkat bucket, Collins scarfed up his second steal then assisting Braelon Green making it 14-6 at the 11:56 mark. The junior then was able to get his third steal which led to a Jamiya neal basket, leading 16-6.
The Bearkats made two quick baskets, but Perez drained the first Sun Devil three, leading 19-10 halfway through the opening period. ASU would then score three straight baskets on the fast-break, extending their lead to 24-10.
Collins drained his first basket from beyond the arc followed by a Gaffney layup to give the Sun Devils a 29-12 lead with 5:23 remaining. The Bearkats would respond with a 7-0 span to force a Bobby Hurley timeout with 4:09 in the first half leading by 10.
Coming out of the timeout, Perez drained a corner jumper to stop the Bearkats momentum leading 31-19. After trading baskets the West Virginia transfer drained his fifth bucket of the game, 36-23.
Ending the half, Akil Watson swiped the sixth steal for the Sun Devils leading to a Perez layup, giving ASU a 38-25 lead heading into halftime.
SECOND HALF:
Coming out of halftime, Neal drove the lane for a layup putting the Sun Devils ahead 40-25. Neal added a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 17 before the Bearkats called their second timeout at the 18:10 mark.
ASU managed to hold Sam Houston scoreless for the first 3:41 of the half but after the quick layup, Perez found Gaffney in the fast break for an alley oop to wake up the Sun Devil faithful, leading 46-27 with 15:17 left.
After two swift buckets by Sam Houston, Watson knocked down a three from the right wing which started an 8-0 run for ASU, giving the Sun Devils 54-31 lead, the largest of the night.
Coming out of the under-12 timeout, back-to-back dunks by Neal and Gaffney kept the lead above 20 points at the nine-minute mark of regulation.
Playing with pace, Neal added four points to his stat sheet in a 24 second span to give the Sun Devils a 67-43 lead at the 8:20 mark.
Both teams traded baskets the next five minutes with Collins emphatically slamming home a dunk which put ASU ahead 74-52 with 3:01 remaining in the game.
UP NEXT:
Sun Devil Men's Basketball will stay at Desert Financial Arena and look to avenge last season's loss against San Francisco. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. MST and can be seen on Pac-12 Networks and can be heard on the radio waves on ESPN 620 AM with Tim Healey and Kyle Dodd on the call. Tickets for Sun Devil Men's Basketball 2023-24 non-conference games are on sale now. Visit the following link for more information. Conference games are available to purchase. Ticket packages start at just $90 and the home schedule features match-ups against top ranked USC, UCLA and Arizona. Season Tickets and Mini Plans are now available.
SUN DEVILS ON SOCIAL
For exclusive content, the latest updates, and more information on the Sun Devil Men's Basketball program, follow our Twitter/Instagram accounts (@SunDevilHoops), like our Facebook page (facebook.com/SunDevilHoops/), and visit our website (thesundevils.com). Make sure you are following Coach Hurley on Twitter @BobbyHurley11.
Arizona State Head Coach Bobby Hurley:
Opening Statement:
"We scrapped and battled tonight, proud of my team. This was a dangerous game. I was very concerned coming into this game considering the injury issues that we've had on the front court. We really competed, defensively. It was our best half in the first half of getting deflections and it got us in a position where we are getting stops and thought we might be able to run on Sam Houston in transition. They play very hard. We thought that might've been something that we could exploit. Fortunately, we have the stops that we're able to get some baskets in transition. It's fun to watch the guys play that way."
On if the win against Vanderbilt created momentum that carried towards this game:
"Overall, just feeling better. We're still finding ourselves, it's still not the entire way there. And as we hopefully add pieces that aren't available right now as we go over the next few weeks, I think we have a chance to incorporate those guys and then we'd have a chance. Shawn (Phillips Jr) right now, just getting him back and getting him healthy is gonna be important. I think some of the things that stood out for me in the game was again our bench, taking a step with Braelon's (Greens) defense and activity. Akil (Watson) just laying out on the floor for a loose ball is probably the best thing we did all night. Then Jamiya (Neal), eight defensive rebounds. If we have some limitations with our size and, to be just completely honest, I mean, they looked more like a power conference team in warm ups than we did. We compensated for not having that girth on the inside with just a lot of will and athletic ability. It was good to see the guys play with that type of energy on defense."
On the competitive nature and turning defense into offense:
"It's something that should be a strength of ours. We pressed a little bit early and wanted to see what they did with that and that worked pretty well. Once we were able to establish the advantage, I asked our team, what do you want to do? And they know, let's just sit down and keep getting stops. We stayed more in our man defense at that point, but I thought our defensive communication was very good for most of the game. It was a lot of switches on point and we do have a lot of guys that are kind of similar size that are interchangeable so we could switch the majority of things on defense with this team."
Arizona State Guard/Forward Jose Perez
On playing style working into the offense:
"Me adjusting to them and them adjusting to me. Playing with some talents and guards. I feel like they trust me enough. I came in two weeks and then they just trust me to make the right plays."
On playing well on a poor three-point percentage night:
"We're really good shooters. Everybody on the team can shoot from Frankie, to Jamiya, to Alonzo, to Kamari. We really have really good shooters. It's just a confidence thing I feel like. They're gonna start falling when it matters. I believe in this team and for all of us
On what has enabled them playing hard consistently
"BYU. BYU punched us in the mouth. No talking about it. They're a really good team, but we're a really good team I feel like, and we just haven't played up to our potential just yet. And I feel like BYU started that, showing us that we need to play hard on both ends."
Arizona State Guard Jamiya Neal
On if win against Vanderbilt brought momentum into this game:
"I think that win helped us a lot. It showed us some things we could do that could help us going forward and I think we capitalized on it."
On guards attacking the glass for 23 rebounds tonight
"We knew with Zane and Shawn out that we have to step up and we're all big athletic guards. So we knew that we could go in there and we had to really help Brian, Alonzo, and those guys in the paint. I think he (Jose) had eight rebounds. I had eight rebounds. I think Frank has six or seven. That's big. We just have to continue to do that every night."
On offense struggling:
"It's a long season. Just get 1% better every day, that's all we gotta do. We don't have to look our best right now. It's a very long season. So we're just trying to get 1% better every day."