TEMPE – Jose Perez went for a season-high 26 points to help Sun Devil Men's Basketball open their home Pac-12 Conference slate with a 82-70 win over Utah on Thursday night.
Arizona State (9-5, 3-0) made their return to Desert Financial Arena a successful one by improving to 3-0 in conference games for the first time since 2012-13. The Sun Devils ended the game making seven of their final nine shots over the final 6:25 of the game as Jose Perez scored a season high 26 points, followed by Frankie Collins with 19 and Adam Miller adding 13 points. Collins contributed 14 of his 19 points in the second half, including nine straight points for ASU.
The Maroon and Gold shot 30-for-60 from the field - an efficient 50% for the game - while holding a red-hot Utah offense to going 13-of-33 (39.3%) shooting in the second half.
KEY MOMENTS:
MILESTONE ACHIEVED
Bobby Hurley secured his 150th victory as the head coach of Sun Devil Men's Basketball. The win makes him just the third coach in program history to win 150 games at ASU.
ASU MEN'S BASKETBALL HEAD COACH CAREER WINS
406, Ned Wulk (1957-82)
159, Herb Sendek (2006-15)
150, Bobby Hurley (2015-present)
NOTABLES
25 at California/Dec. 31, 2023
23 at Texas Southern/Nov. 13, 2022
21 vs. San Francisco/Dec. 3, 2023
21 vs. Tarleton/Nov. 7, 2022
19 vs. Utah/Jan. 4, 2024
17 vs. SMU/Dec. 6, 2023
16 at Washington State/Jan. 28, 2023
15 at San Diego/Dec. 9, 2023
15 at Stanford/Feb. 9, 2023
15 at Washington/Jan. 26, 2023
SUN DEVILS VS. UTAH PAST SEVEN GAMES (6-1)
ASU 82, Utah 70/Jan. 4, 2023
ASU 67, Utah 59/Jan. 18, 2023
ASU 63, @Utah 61/Feb. 26, 2022
ASU 64, Utah 62/Jan. 17, 2022
@Utah 98, ASU 59/Mar. 6, 2021
ASU 83, Utah 64/Jan. 18, 2020
ASU 98, @Utah 87/Feb. 16, 2019
FIRST HALF:
Alonzo Gaffney knocked down an open three to open scoring for the Sun Devils after back-to-back Utah baskets, pitting ASU down 5-3 at the 18:09 mark.
Following another Utah three, the Sun Devils made back-to-back steals which led to layups by Frankie Collins, Jamiya Neal and a contested jumper by Jose Perez to take a quick 6-0 run in 85 seconds at the 15:38 mark, prompting the first media timeout.
Collins banked a three following a Utah basket to halt the Sun Devil's momentum, retaking a 12-10 lead in ASU's favor, then following a steal by Neal was a Perez layup to extend the lead to four with 13:37 left.
The lead for the Sun Devils would extend to six after Collins assisted a Shawn Phillips Jr jumper, 16-10, but on the ensuing possession Utah converted to bring the lead back to four.
Phillips forced his way through two Utah defenders to successfully draw an and-one to put the Sun Devils ahead 19-12 with 11:37 remaining at the under-12 stoppage.
Shawn Phillips found an open Adam Miller cutting to the basket to halt a 5-0 stretch for the Utes, but a Utah three cut the lead to one, 21-20 forcing Bobby Hurley to take ASU's first timeout with 8:49 left.
Each side traded baskets as Adam Miller drained a three from the right-wing putting the Sun Devils ahead 24-22 at the under-8 media timeout.
Utah made two straight baskets to take a 27-24 lead, then Neal responded with a right-wing three, assisted by Alonzo Gaffney to tie the game at 27. Both sides traded baskets, with five straight points scored by Jose Perez's to put the Sun Devils down one, 33-32 with 3:11 left in the opening half.
Both Utah and the Sun Devils traded three's coming out of the break. With 1:19 remaining Phillips went 1-for-2 from the charity stripe the bring the game to a 36-36 tie. Jose Perez drained a three from the top of the key, then proceeded to notch his first steal of the game to assist Neal on an alley-oop prompting a Utah timeout with 22.6 left in the first half with ASU ahead 41-36.
SECOND HALF:
Frankie Collins opened up the second half with a steal and a layup to put the Sun Devils ahead 43-36, but Utah responded with a contested layup bringing the lead back to five in the first 60 seconds of the half.
The Utes cut the lead to three but Perez drained a free throw and Gaffney caught a lob from Miller to bring the ASU lead back to six, 46-40. The Utes added two free throws with ASU ahead with 15:46 in regulation.
The Sun Devils broke a four minute scoreless streak with a Phillips Jr. layup but the Utes cut the lead to one with 13:46 remaining in the game, 48-47. Collins responded with sinking his second three of the game from the right-wing, 51-47. ASU would sustain a two point lead going into the under-12 timeout, 51-49.
Collins made a fade away jumper out of the timeout to bring the lead back to four, and sank two free throws to extend the Sun Devils' lead back to six, 55-49. But the Utes drained a triple to cut the lead back to three and added a free throw cutting the deficit back to two.
The junior proceeded to break a 2:17 scoreless stretch for the Sun Devils with a high-lofted layup giving ASU a 57-53 cushion. Perez followed with a mid-range jumper putting the lead up six with 7:04 left in the game. After back-to-back free throws by Miller gave ASU an 61-53 lead,
Collins responded after a Utah layup with his second three of the contest, then assisted Perez with a three of his own, and ultimately Miller cashing in his third three of the game forcing a Utah timeout with ASU ahead 70-59 with 4:57 left.
Returning from the timeout, ASU stayed within rhythm with Shawn Phillips bullying his way to the basket, then Perez draining his fourth three of the game to give the Sun Devils a 75-59 lead, the biggest of the night with 3:53 left.
Both sides traded baskets to end the game with the Sun Devils coming away with an 82-70 victory.
UP NEXT:
Sun Devil Men's Basketball will stay at Desert Financial Arena to host Colorado tip-off at 6:00 p.m. MST before a road tilt against Washington on January 11. Coverage can be seen on ESPNU along with being heard on the radio waves on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM with Tim Healey and Kyle Dodd on the call. Tickets for Sun Devil Men's Basketball 2023-24 conference games are still available. Packages start at just $90 and the home schedule features match-ups against top ranked USC, UCLA and Arizona. Check out our Season Tickets and Mini Plans options. For more information or questions, please call 480-965-5812 or email sundeviltickets@asu.edu.
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:
"I thought maybe our cleanest, best performance of the season on offense especially. Jose had a great game. Frankie stuffed the stat sheet again. Shawn Phillips, I thought, gave us a real boost. Adam Miller's defense on Madeson was unbelievable. It was hard for him to even get a shot off. He's one of their guys that we really wanted to try and take out of the game and I thought Adam was terrific in that regard and there's multiple other guys that we could talk about quickly here. Yeah, just everybody, it was a great team win"
On the key on defense guarding Utah center Branden Carlson:
"I thought our switches were pretty good. We lost them once early in the first half. He's a tough match-up because their offense is designed to create those switches and get a smaller guy on them. I thought our help defense loaded to him pretty well. We have been feisty at that end of the floor and it was a priority to try and make his catches difficult because of the quality of player he is."
On getting win number 150 as a head coach at ASU:
"It was just great to share it with the team and the guys who were excited for it. I've loved coaching in this program and I told the guys I should have about 20 or 25 more wins. I probably messed some up along the way, but I'm happy to be at this number."
Arizona State Guard Jose Perez:
On finding his shooting touch:
"Confidence, it was only a matter of time. My teammates trust me and the man to my right (Frankie Collins) told me to keep shooting it since I've been turning it down all year. People have been putting their center on me."
On what encouraged team to play how they played:
"First place was on the line. We're still trying to get to the tournament. To do that, we got to one, protect home and two, we got to continue to stay solid in conference play."
Arizona State Guard Frankie Collins:
On the importance of getting a quad one win:
"It was really important, especially because we lost big to a couple of quad one teams, so for us to come out here and get this quad one win after those tough losses is huge. It's a great win for us, we needed that."
On gaining confidence with each win:
"We gain a lot of confidence, especially with those two road wins because like I said before, it's hard to go get a road sweep in this conference. So for us to do that and carry it over to tonight and we've been good at home all season, so it'll be hard for a team to win here."
Arizona State (9-5, 3-0) made their return to Desert Financial Arena a successful one by improving to 3-0 in conference games for the first time since 2012-13. The Sun Devils ended the game making seven of their final nine shots over the final 6:25 of the game as Jose Perez scored a season high 26 points, followed by Frankie Collins with 19 and Adam Miller adding 13 points. Collins contributed 14 of his 19 points in the second half, including nine straight points for ASU.
The Maroon and Gold shot 30-for-60 from the field - an efficient 50% for the game - while holding a red-hot Utah offense to going 13-of-33 (39.3%) shooting in the second half.
Not Done Yet ??@showout_zayy0 gets to the bucket and sets a new season-high ??
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) January 5, 2024
ASU 78 | UTAH 63
2:00 - 2nd Half pic.twitter.com/DlorCqpPNG
It's Raining in DFA ??@AceWolf44 hits the 1??1??th Sun Devil three of the game ??
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) January 5, 2024
?? @ESPN
?? https://t.co/hLFmBOTBG6 pic.twitter.com/GqipQJj86z
DFA Eruption ??@showout_zayy0 taking over ??@jamiyaneal_ with an incredible finish
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) January 5, 2024
?? @ESPN
?? https://t.co/hLFmBOTBG6 pic.twitter.com/5RMITjVVJg
KEY MOMENTS:
- Back-to-back steals by Collins and Neal started a 16-4 stretch over 6:04 to take a 19-12 lead with 11:37 left in the first half. Four different Sun Devils made their way into the score sheet forcing three steals.
- After being down 36-35 with 1:19 remaining in the first half, Jose Perez scored five of the last six points for the Sun Devils to take a 41-36 lead going into halftime.
- Utah went on a 3:30 scoring drought from 10:05-7:05 in the second half, going 1-for-8. This prompted the Sun Devils to extend the lead to eight with seven minutes left in regulation.
- The Sun Devils outscored the Utes 21-8 in a 7:30 span, cashing in on four threes' and going 7-of-10 from the field in that span to take a 78-63 lead which ultimately put the game out of reach.
MILESTONE ACHIEVED
Bobby Hurley secured his 150th victory as the head coach of Sun Devil Men's Basketball. The win makes him just the third coach in program history to win 150 games at ASU.
ASU MEN'S BASKETBALL HEAD COACH CAREER WINS
406, Ned Wulk (1957-82)
159, Herb Sendek (2006-15)
150, Bobby Hurley (2015-present)
NOTABLES
- Utah came into the game shooting 48.9% from the field which ranks 34th in the country, the Sun Devils held the Utes to 41.2% shooting for the game. It's their second lowest shooting percentage in a game this season.
- It's the first time since the 2012-13 the Sun Devils are 3-0 in Pac-12 play.
- It's the fifth time ASU is 3-0 in Pac-12 play. (1979-80, 1987-88, 2007-08, 2012-13, 2023-24)
- The victory snaps Utah's eight game winning streak, and the win keeps the Sun Devils 6-0 at home this season.
- It's the first game this season the Utes had lost when getting out-rebounded, as Utah was 8-0 when they out-rebound their opponent.
- The Sun Devils move to 7-2 when Frankie Collins' makes at least two threes' in a single game.
- The victory moves the Sun Devils to 17-13 at home against the Utes all-time, and ties the series at 10-10 since Utah joined the Pac-12.
- Ultimately the win is their fourth straight against Utah at Desert Financial Arena.
- The win marks the first time since the 2017-18 season that ASU has made 10+ threes' in three straight conference games.
- The 12 point victory is the first quad-one win this season for ASU.
- Arizona State went 30-for-60 from the field, an efficient 50% for the game and the third time this season shooting above 50% in a game.
- The Sun Devils are 3-0 in such games this season.
- The maroon & gold shot, 12-for-28 from beyond the arc, going 42.9% from the field. Tied for the second most makes in a game this season.
- This is the first time since the 2017-18 season ASU has made 10 or more 3s in 3 straight conference games
- It is only the third time in Hurley era having 3 straight conference games with at least 10 made 3s.
- In fact, it is the only time since 1996-97 that ASU has made at least 10 threes in each of their 1st 3 conference games.
- The Sun Devils 82 points is the third time this season the maroon & gold have scored 80+ points in a game.
- ASU snatched ten steals from the Utes, the fifth game this season having 10 or more steals in a single game.
- The Sun Devils are 4-1 in such games this season.
- Jose Perez's 26 Points mark a season high and his fourth 20+ point game this season, his first coming against UMass Lowell. He finished the game with a game-high +24.
- It marks his 10th collegiate game scoring 25+ points in a single game
- It's also his fifth collegiate game making four or more threes' in a single contest.
- It's the graduates' fifth career game securing 25+ points off of 50% or better shooting.
- Frankie Collins finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists, it's his third game this season scoring 15+ points, 5+ rebounds and 5+ assists.
- The Junior stayed elusive on the defensive side, with his ninth game this season securing 3+ steals in a game.
- His 14 points in the second half prompted the Sun Devils to pull away, scoring an efficient 5-for-8 from the field and shooting 50% from beyond the arc.
- Sophomore Shawn Phillips Jr. scored a season high nine points off the bench, shooting an efficient 4-of-5 from the field while also securing a season high seven rebounds in 15 minutes.
- The Sun Devils shared the rock securing a season high 18 assists in the victory.
- Six different players managed to secure blocks, tying a season high with six swats on the night.
- Frankie Collins scored 25 at Cal and Jose Perez had 26 tonight. The last time ASU had a player score at least 25 in consecutive conference games with it being a different player in each game? 2016-17 (Tra Holder on 1/29/17 vs WSU, Shannon Evans on 2/2/17 vs Oregon).
25 at California/Dec. 31, 2023
23 at Texas Southern/Nov. 13, 2022
21 vs. San Francisco/Dec. 3, 2023
21 vs. Tarleton/Nov. 7, 2022
19 vs. Utah/Jan. 4, 2024
17 vs. SMU/Dec. 6, 2023
16 at Washington State/Jan. 28, 2023
15 at San Diego/Dec. 9, 2023
15 at Stanford/Feb. 9, 2023
15 at Washington/Jan. 26, 2023
SUN DEVILS VS. UTAH PAST SEVEN GAMES (6-1)
ASU 82, Utah 70/Jan. 4, 2023
ASU 67, Utah 59/Jan. 18, 2023
ASU 63, @Utah 61/Feb. 26, 2022
ASU 64, Utah 62/Jan. 17, 2022
@Utah 98, ASU 59/Mar. 6, 2021
ASU 83, Utah 64/Jan. 18, 2020
ASU 98, @Utah 87/Feb. 16, 2019
FIRST HALF:
Alonzo Gaffney knocked down an open three to open scoring for the Sun Devils after back-to-back Utah baskets, pitting ASU down 5-3 at the 18:09 mark.
Following another Utah three, the Sun Devils made back-to-back steals which led to layups by Frankie Collins, Jamiya Neal and a contested jumper by Jose Perez to take a quick 6-0 run in 85 seconds at the 15:38 mark, prompting the first media timeout.
Collins banked a three following a Utah basket to halt the Sun Devil's momentum, retaking a 12-10 lead in ASU's favor, then following a steal by Neal was a Perez layup to extend the lead to four with 13:37 left.
The lead for the Sun Devils would extend to six after Collins assisted a Shawn Phillips Jr jumper, 16-10, but on the ensuing possession Utah converted to bring the lead back to four.
Phillips forced his way through two Utah defenders to successfully draw an and-one to put the Sun Devils ahead 19-12 with 11:37 remaining at the under-12 stoppage.
Shawn Phillips found an open Adam Miller cutting to the basket to halt a 5-0 stretch for the Utes, but a Utah three cut the lead to one, 21-20 forcing Bobby Hurley to take ASU's first timeout with 8:49 left.
Each side traded baskets as Adam Miller drained a three from the right-wing putting the Sun Devils ahead 24-22 at the under-8 media timeout.
Utah made two straight baskets to take a 27-24 lead, then Neal responded with a right-wing three, assisted by Alonzo Gaffney to tie the game at 27. Both sides traded baskets, with five straight points scored by Jose Perez's to put the Sun Devils down one, 33-32 with 3:11 left in the opening half.
Both Utah and the Sun Devils traded three's coming out of the break. With 1:19 remaining Phillips went 1-for-2 from the charity stripe the bring the game to a 36-36 tie. Jose Perez drained a three from the top of the key, then proceeded to notch his first steal of the game to assist Neal on an alley-oop prompting a Utah timeout with 22.6 left in the first half with ASU ahead 41-36.
SECOND HALF:
Frankie Collins opened up the second half with a steal and a layup to put the Sun Devils ahead 43-36, but Utah responded with a contested layup bringing the lead back to five in the first 60 seconds of the half.
The Utes cut the lead to three but Perez drained a free throw and Gaffney caught a lob from Miller to bring the ASU lead back to six, 46-40. The Utes added two free throws with ASU ahead with 15:46 in regulation.
The Sun Devils broke a four minute scoreless streak with a Phillips Jr. layup but the Utes cut the lead to one with 13:46 remaining in the game, 48-47. Collins responded with sinking his second three of the game from the right-wing, 51-47. ASU would sustain a two point lead going into the under-12 timeout, 51-49.
Collins made a fade away jumper out of the timeout to bring the lead back to four, and sank two free throws to extend the Sun Devils' lead back to six, 55-49. But the Utes drained a triple to cut the lead back to three and added a free throw cutting the deficit back to two.
The junior proceeded to break a 2:17 scoreless stretch for the Sun Devils with a high-lofted layup giving ASU a 57-53 cushion. Perez followed with a mid-range jumper putting the lead up six with 7:04 left in the game. After back-to-back free throws by Miller gave ASU an 61-53 lead,
Collins responded after a Utah layup with his second three of the contest, then assisted Perez with a three of his own, and ultimately Miller cashing in his third three of the game forcing a Utah timeout with ASU ahead 70-59 with 4:57 left.
Returning from the timeout, ASU stayed within rhythm with Shawn Phillips bullying his way to the basket, then Perez draining his fourth three of the game to give the Sun Devils a 75-59 lead, the biggest of the night with 3:53 left.
Both sides traded baskets to end the game with the Sun Devils coming away with an 82-70 victory.
UP NEXT:
Sun Devil Men's Basketball will stay at Desert Financial Arena to host Colorado tip-off at 6:00 p.m. MST before a road tilt against Washington on January 11. Coverage can be seen on ESPNU along with being heard on the radio waves on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM with Tim Healey and Kyle Dodd on the call. Tickets for Sun Devil Men's Basketball 2023-24 conference games are still available. Packages start at just $90 and the home schedule features match-ups against top ranked USC, UCLA and Arizona. Check out our Season Tickets and Mini Plans options. For more information or questions, please call 480-965-5812 or email sundeviltickets@asu.edu.
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:
"I thought maybe our cleanest, best performance of the season on offense especially. Jose had a great game. Frankie stuffed the stat sheet again. Shawn Phillips, I thought, gave us a real boost. Adam Miller's defense on Madeson was unbelievable. It was hard for him to even get a shot off. He's one of their guys that we really wanted to try and take out of the game and I thought Adam was terrific in that regard and there's multiple other guys that we could talk about quickly here. Yeah, just everybody, it was a great team win"
On the key on defense guarding Utah center Branden Carlson:
"I thought our switches were pretty good. We lost them once early in the first half. He's a tough match-up because their offense is designed to create those switches and get a smaller guy on them. I thought our help defense loaded to him pretty well. We have been feisty at that end of the floor and it was a priority to try and make his catches difficult because of the quality of player he is."
On getting win number 150 as a head coach at ASU:
"It was just great to share it with the team and the guys who were excited for it. I've loved coaching in this program and I told the guys I should have about 20 or 25 more wins. I probably messed some up along the way, but I'm happy to be at this number."
Arizona State Guard Jose Perez:
On finding his shooting touch:
"Confidence, it was only a matter of time. My teammates trust me and the man to my right (Frankie Collins) told me to keep shooting it since I've been turning it down all year. People have been putting their center on me."
On what encouraged team to play how they played:
"First place was on the line. We're still trying to get to the tournament. To do that, we got to one, protect home and two, we got to continue to stay solid in conference play."
Arizona State Guard Frankie Collins:
On the importance of getting a quad one win:
"It was really important, especially because we lost big to a couple of quad one teams, so for us to come out here and get this quad one win after those tough losses is huge. It's a great win for us, we needed that."
On gaining confidence with each win:
"We gain a lot of confidence, especially with those two road wins because like I said before, it's hard to go get a road sweep in this conference. So for us to do that and carry it over to tonight and we've been good at home all season, so it'll be hard for a team to win here."