Sun Devil Men's Basketball defeats New Mexico in Exhibition matchup

First Half
The Pit presents one of the most historic and hostiles settings in college basketball. Arizona State was more than ready for the challenge, handling an inital Lobos surge sparked by the lively home crowd. New Mexico jumped out to an early 19-12 lead, but Head Coach Randy Bennett's team responded to the adversity. A 16-0 run was a resounding answer, headlined by the performance of Dillan Shaw. He provided 11 of those points, showing off his entire skill set against a stingy Lobos' defense. Shaw finished the half with 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including a 4-of-7 mark from three-point range.

The 16-0 run gave the Sun Devils a 28-19 lead and all the momentum as the half proceeded. Paulius Murauskas and Joel Foxwell helped ASU close the half strong, each scoring four points over the final four minutes. Arizona State's defense was the story of the opening 20 minutes, as the Maroon and Gold shut down a high-powered New Mexico offense. ASU held the Lobos to just 10-of-30 (33.3%)  shooting overall and 2-of-11 (18.2%) from behind the arc.

Second Half
The Sun Devils opened the second half on fire from beyond the arc, hitting five of their first six three-pointers. Three straight triples from Eman, Paulius, and D-Shaw to open the half set the tone for what would be a high-paced final 20 minutes. Midway through the half, Emmanuel Innocenti and freshman guard JRob Croy each hit threes, both times extending the lead out to 20. 

Paulius Murauskas started to take over in the second half, as he finished with 22 points in the final period. It started with a three to reach 20 points with still ten minutes of action left. A four-point spurt by Defty opened up a 23-point lead at the 9:06 mark, which was the largest of the game.

A significant New Mexico run ensued, one the Sun Devils struggled to stop. It finally was snapped at 17-0 with a pair of Murauskas free-throws, but by the end the lead had been trimmed to six. When in doubt, Arizona State relied on the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year to take them to the finish line. Back-to-back contested three-pointer from Murauskas quieted the crowd and completely swing the momentum. The first snapped a 6+ minute field goal drought and the second put him over 30 points. Sophomore point guard Joel Foxwell had five of his 14 points over the final 1:30, coming through in crunch time. Strong free throw shooting and a clutch final defensive stop ulitmatiely allowed the Sun Devils to prevail with a 91-86 win.

Notables

• The duo of Dillan Shaw and Paulius Murauskas were fantastic in the victory. They combined for 53 points, 16 rebounds, and went 12-of-23 from beyond the arc.
• Shaw had 17 points in the first half on 6-of-10 shooting, including a 4-of-7 mark from three-point range. He played all 40 minutes of the game.
• Murauskas did his best work in the second half, scoring 22 of his 31 after the break. He shot 6-of-8 from the field, 6-of-7 from three-point range, and was 4-for-4 at the stripe.
• Emmanuel Innocenti was locked in defensively in the first half, coming away with four steals. He finished with five total, accounting for all five Sun Devil steals.
• Innocenti impacted New Mexico star and Preseason Mountain West Conference Player of the Year Jake Hall. 
• In two exhibition games, Hall averaged 30.5 points while shooting 84.2% from the field.
• During the first half of the game against Arizona State, Innocenti held him to just four points on 1-of-10 shooting in 14 minutes.
• Hall went on to miss his first nine three-points shots and did not hit a three-pointer until 10:02 left in the second half.
• Hall finished with 19 points on 6-of-19 shooting (31.6%). Last year, he shot 48% from the field.
• Arizona State secured the victory in large part due to their effectiveness from the free-throw stripe. They finished 17-of-20 from the line (85%).
• Despite New Mexico boasting a 13-9 edge in offensive rebounds, it was Arizona State who had more second chance points, winning the category 15-7.
• A season ago, Paulius Murauskas had two 30-point games in the regular season. This would've been his second-best career scoring effort had it come in a regular season game.
• Murauskas' seven three-pointers would have been by far a new career-best, as he did not have a game in which he made more than three last season.

 

 

 

 

 

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