(Tempe, AZ) Arizona State used a historic defense effort to race past Grambling State 80-49 Tuesday night at Desert Financial Arena.
The Sun Devils allowed just one three three pointer in the contest and held the Tigers to 26.6% from the floor, the lowest since the Maroon & Gold held Arkansas-Pine Bluff to 29.7% on 10/28/12.
ASU pushed their lead to 17 at the half and went on an 18-1 run starting near the midpoint of the second half to destroy any thoughts of a Tigers comeback attempt.
Devan Cambridge paced the Sun Devil offense with 16 points, joined by DJ Horne (15), Frankie Collins (11) and Warren Washington (11) in double figures.
Bobby Hurley closed out ASU’s scoring with his first collegiate triple with :51 left in the game.
KEY MOMENTS
- ASU opened the game on a 12-0 run and held Grambling State 0-6 from the floor to start the game.
- The Sun Devils made five of six shots from the floor heading into the under-12 media timeout in the first half.
- A 6-0 run over the final 2:02 of the first half gave ASU a 17 point lead heading into the break.
- Following two makes from Alfonzo Gaffney at the line with 6:20 left in the game, ASU was on an 18-1 run over 4:54.
FIRST HALF
The recent trend of early Sun Devil three-pointers continued as Desmond Cambridge Jr. knocked one in on ASU’s opening possession, followed by an immediate rejection by Warren Washington.
Back-to-back layups from Desmond Cambridge Jr, extended the Sun Devil run to seven and Warren Washington smashed down a vicious alley-oop dunk on the find from DJ Horne.
Horne gave ASU its first double-digit lead of the contest with 15:48 to play on his first triple of the game.
After a Tigers run, Frankie Collins drained a trey with the shot clock winding down for his first basket of the game at 14:40 in the opening half and Collins tossed to Devan Cambridge for a loud alley-oop, giving ASU five makes in its last six shots.
At the under-12 media timeout, ASU had six assists on its first seven field goals.
Offense then proved hard to come by for both squads. Luther Muhammad found the bottom of the net with a floater at 3:21 to push the Sun Devil advantage to 13, 28-15.
A rebound turned into an ASU fast break as Frankie Collins found Devan Cambridge for a wide open slam with :58 left in the first half. The basket capped a 6-0 run over 1:04. ASU held Grambling State to just 17 points and just 31% from the floor, bests for the Sun Devil defense in first halves this season.
SECOND HALF
Horne dropped in a pretty layup off the top of the glass to open the second half scoring, giving ASU their largest lead of the game, 36-17, with 19:22 left.
Desmond Cambridge Jr. and Washington each erased Tiger shots in the first minute, bringing ASU’s game total to six.
Horne cashed in a trey to bring him into double digits with 10 points at 18:39 to play.
Frankie Collins notched his seventh assist of the contest on a dot to a wide-open Horne with 16:48 left in regulation to push the lead to 22, the largest of the game to that point.
Jamiya Neal got in on the fun by finding Desmond Cambridge Jr for a slam with 12:29 left to play. Then, at 9:45, Neal threw down a fast break slam after a steal from Austin Nunez.
Following an offensive foul on the Tigers 8:42 to play, ASU was on a 6-0 run over 1:32.
The Cambridge brothers connected on an alley-oop dunk as Devan found Desmond to put ASU ahead 71-34 with 4:50 to play.
The Sun Devils closed out the contest on a Bobby Hurley Jr. triple with :51 left in the game, his first collegiate points.
QUOTABLES
Arizona State Head Coach Bobby Hurley
Opening Statement:
“I thought our defense again was really, really strong and we’ve got to clean up the rebounding a bit, but I’m happy to see 21 assists and 25 made field goals. That shows unselfishness and the guys moving the ball.”
On Jamiya Neal’s first game as a Sun Devil:
“I’m happy for Jamiya. It’s unfortunate, the timing of his injury and missing all of that time, so I wanted to be careful of his minutes. But he’s going to upgrade our defense, and we are already playing pretty good defense. Even he said to me, just now, it felt different and not like practice. It’s his first game, but I think he’ll continue to grow and develop.”
Arizona State Guard DJ Horne:
On sharing the ball around which equals 21 assists:
“Guys are sharing the sugar man. It’s fun to see when everyone is out there smiling. I feel like that’s what we’ve been emphasizing. Everyone plays as a team, if everyone does that everyone will eat.”
Arizona State forward Devan Cambridge
On playing at home:
“It’s so great to be back. We had a long road trip for a week. It’s just fun. I love playing in front of a home crowd. We got another one Sunday (and we’re) ready to do the same thing.”
NOTABLES
The Sun Devil defense was historically good tonight, as Grambling State’s 26.6% mark from the floor was the lowest since ASU held Arkansas-Pine Bluff to 29.7% on 10/28/12.
It’s the seventh time in the last 10 seasons ASU has forced an opponent to shoot under 30% from the field. It is the first since 10/14/19 vs. Central Connecticut State.
Arizona State allowed just 17 points in the first half, a season low. The previous season low was 22 against NAU. The Sun Devils allowed just three field goals over the final 11:20 of the opening half.
Grambling State shot 1-8 (12.5%) from three-point distance in the first half, bringing ASU’s season first half three-point defense to 10-56 (17.8%). Arizona State is now holding opponents to 26-115 (22.6%) from long distance through six games this season.
After coming into the contest averaging 31.9% from three-point range and five threes per game, Grambling State was held to just 1-13 from behind the arc. The one triple is the fewest allowed by the Sun Devil defense this season.
With their six blocks tonight, the Sun Devils are now up to 36 blocks as a team through six games, the third most through six games in the last 23 seasons.
Grambling State was also held to a season low in assists (8) and tied for their season high in turnovers (18) and tied for the season low points in the paint (28).
With his 15 points, DJ Horne is into double figures for the fourth time in six games this season and the third straight contest. Frankie Collins (11) was also in double figures for the third consecutive game.
10 Sun Devils scored at least two points tonight, the most scorers in a game this season.
ASU’s 21 assists were a season-high. The previous best mark was 18 against NAU.
Arizona State scored 80 points for the third time this season (84/NAU and 87/Michigan).
Four Sun Devils – Devan Cambridge (16) DJ Horne (15), Frankie Collins (11) and Warren Washington (11) – all scored in double figures, the second consecutive game four Sun Devils have scored in double digits.
Collins has led ASU in assists in each game this season. His seven dimes tonight were one shy of his season high eight against NAU.
Arizona State moves to 2-0 all-time against Grambling State.
Bobby Hurley is now 35-7 in non-conference home games as a Sun Devil.
Arizona State is on a three-game winning streak, a season high.
UP NEXT
Arizona State will have a Thanksgiving feast before returning to Desert Financial Arena Sunday for a 3:00 MST tipoff against Alcorn State.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Connor Smith
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