(Tempe, AZ) The Arizona State men’s basketball team recorded 20 assists in consecutive contests for the first time since the 2010-11 campaign en-route to a dominant 76-54 victory over Alcorn State Sunday afternoon at Desert Financial Arena.
ASU (6-1) scored first and pulled away late in the first half via a 10-0 run, never trailing after that span. The Sun Devils passing game was electric, with Frankie Collins and DJ Horne each recording five assists, marking the first time this season the Sun Devils have had multiple individuals with at least five assists in a game.
On the other side of the floor, the Sun Devil defense continued to be masterful, with Alcorn State shooting just 5-22 (22.7%) from three-point range and just 19-70 (27.1%) overall.
KEY MOMENTS
The Sun Devil defense clamped down, holding Alcorn State without a field goal from 18:57-15:35. The Braves were 0-5 from the floor during that stretch. The stretch was pivotal as the ASU offense eased into the game, scoring four points in that time.
A furious 10-0 run that began with 4:09 to play in the first half and took less than two minutes was emphasized by devastating slams and blocks by Warren Washington. It shot Arizona State in front for good.
Just past the midway point of the second half, ASU rattled off a 8-0 run over 2:44 and pushed the lead to 15, proving to be too much for Alcorn State to come back from.
FIRST HALF
Desmond Cambridge Jr. got the scoring started on Arizona State’s first possession, a mid-range jumper at 19:41. He then found his brother Devan for the next Sun Devil bucket, a slam with 18:18 left in the first half to put ASU up 4-2.
Arizona State forced a Braves timeout with 17:09 after Warren Washington smashed in a dunk.
Alcorn State (3-4) was held without a field goal from over 3:22 from 18:57-15:35 including 0-5 from the floor until a dunk shrunk the Sun Devil lead to one.
Fresh into the game, Duke Brennan threw down a pick-and-roll find from Frankie Collins with 12:33 left in the opening half.
Then, with 10:27 left, Jamiya Neal found Alfonzo Gaffney for an alley-oop jam, putting Arizona State back in front 13-12. Gaffney proceeded to violently smack a Braves layup attempt off the backboard.
Brennan poked one in on an assist from DJ Horne with 7:55 to play, putting ASU back ahead 16-15. Desmond Cambridge Jr. then raced down the floor and dropped in a layup from Neal with 7:32 remaining.
The squads continued to trade baskets. After Alcorn State took the lead back, Washington threw down a one-handed slam from Collins with 4:56 to play, putting ASU back ahead, 20-19.
The Sun Devils took the lead for good on a soaring jam by Devan Cambridge from Collins with 3:51 left in the half. Collins then knocked in ASU’s first triple of the contest with 3:02 to play and Washington erased a falling Braves layup with 2:48 left in the opener.
Washington decided he was not having enough fun, throwing down an alley-oop 2:19 on the clock, extending the Sun Devil lead to 9, 30-21. The basket capped a 10-0 ASU run over 1:54. At the time, Alcorn State was 0 for their last 7 and 2 for their last 10 from the floor. The Braves were held without a basket over the final 6:43 to play in the half.
SECOND HALF
Devan Cambridge made a trey on the opening possession of the second half with 19:30 on the clock. After a stop on the other end, Horne swooped into the paint to find a cutting Washington on an alley-oop. It extended ASU’s lead to 124, 37-23, the largest of the game.
Muhammad found Gaffney in the corner for a three, his second make from long range this season, with 13:58 to play to bring ASU’s lead back to nine. Then, with 10:31 to play, Gaffney made another triple, bringing him up to eight points on the day.
With the offense stalling, Desmond Cambridge Jr. drained a deep triple with 8:46 left to put ASU up 55-45. It was the Sun Devils’ third consecutive made basket.
Collins drove in the lane and hesitated in mid-air for layup with 6:03 to play. It capped an 8-0 Sun Devil run over 2:44 including four makes in the last five Sun Devil shots. Gaffney then floated an alley-oop to Desmond Cambridge Jr. with 5:16 to play, extending the Arizona State lead to 15, the largest of the game, at 62-57.
The Braves finished the game by making just two of their last 15 from the floor as ASU closed out the victory.
QUOTABLES
Arizona State Men’s Basketball head coach Bobby Hurley
Opening Statement
“I’m excited today for Sun Devil Athletics; seeing what the hockey team did last night and and then the announcement today and just wishing nothing but the best here moving forward with Coach Dillingham and he’s gonna bring great energy and his press conference was amazing … certainly mine wasn’t as stellar, but I think he will infuse so much life into that program and just excited to see it happen. As far as the game, I knew this was gonna be a hard played game, a very scrappy opponent. Very similar to some other opponents we had I think even you’re probably more formidable in certain ways and there was no quit. They played the whole game just as I told our team. I was just really pleased with our ball movement. I think 20 assists again and it wasn’t unscripted plays it was on guys in the transition to open court making great decisions, you know, the lobs and and then just really, really good passing and unselfishness.
Arizona State Men’s Basketball center Alonzo Gaffney
On the defensive approach…
“We take pride in our defense and work on it every day in practice. We have a lot of length and athleticism on this team. We expect to block shots and [stuff like that] every day.”
On consistency on both ends of the floor…
“We get a lot of offense from our defense. The offense is going to come to us and make sure that we get great shots.
Arizona State Men’s Basketball center Warren Washington
On the defensive approach…
It’s a credit to all the attention and time we put into our defense up to this point. All five guys want to play defense and that translates.
On getting baskets inside…
“When you’re dangerous on the inside, it’s hard to guard that type of team. We have that. We’re deep in the wing and guard positions and we have bigs who can run the floor. We have unselfish guards who give up the ball so it just works perfectly.”
NOTABLES
Today’s 20 Sun Devil assists mark the second consecutive game that ASU has at least 20 assists. They had two such games all of last season. It is the first time that ASU has had at least 20 assists in consecutive games since March 5 & 9, 2011 against Oregon State and Oregon.
DJ Horne and Frankie Collins each had five assists, the first time this season the Sun Devils have had multiple players with at least five assists.
For the first time since at least 1996-97, the ASU defense has held an opponent to less than 28% from the floor in consecutive games. Arizona State held Alcorn State to 19-70 (27.1%) after holding Grambling State to 17-64 (26.6%) last time out.
History could be in the midst of repeating itself for the Sun Devils. Arizona States’ 6-1 start is the best seven game start since 2018-19, where the Sun Devils also went 6-1. That span, like this one, included a win over a ranked foe (#15 Mississippi) on a neutral floor. That ASU squad went on to earn an automatic bid into March Madness.
The Sun Devils three-point defense has been exceptional this season. Grambling State shot just 5-22 (22.7%) including 2-12 (16.7%) in the opening half. Opponents are now shooting 31-137 (22.6%) overall from three point range against ASU including 12-68 (17.6%) in the first half.
Arizona State had 24 points in the pain during the first half and 36 of their 76 overall points came inside the painted area. 47.7% of today’s total points came in the paint, the most in a Sun Devil win this season. The previous high in an ASU win was 45.2% in the season opener against Tarleton State.
The 36-24 scoring margin in the paint marked the third consecutive game ASU has outscored their opponent down low.
Arizona State led at the half by nine, 32-23, meaning the Sun Devils have held the lead at the half in all six home contests this season and are unbeaten in those games.
Alcorn State was held without a field goal over the last 6:43 in the first half and shot 7-32 (22%) from the floor in the stanza. It is the second lowest shooting percentage in a half for a Sun Devil opponent this season, with the best mark being 20.59% against Grambling State.
With the exception of the first game of the season, Arizona State has held the opponents leading scorer to less than their season average in all five wins this season.
Alfonzo Gaffney’s 10 points were a season high. His previous best was last game against Grambling State (7).
With his 11 points, Collins was in double figures for the fourth consecutive game. Prior to this season, he had never had consecutive games in double digits.
Collins’ five assists were tied with Horne the game high, meaning Collins had either led or tied for the Sun Devil assist high in all seven games this season.
Arizona State is now up to 45 blocks as a team with nine today. At the final buzzer, they lead the Pac-12 in total blocks and are one of only three squads in the league with at least forty team blocks.
Warren Washington was in a three-way tie for the blocks (2) on the day, meaning he has tied or led the Sun Devils in blocks in six consecutive games.
The defense held Alcorn State to a season low 54 points.
The Sun Devils improve to 2-0 all-time against the Braves.
Currently in his eighth year in the league, Bobby Hurley now owns a 36-7 (83.7%) mark in non-conference home games.
UP NEXT
Arizona State will open Pac-12 play with a road contest against Colorado Thursday night. Tip-off is set for 6:30 MST.
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