(Tempe, AZ) Sun Devil Men’s Basketball found its rhythm in a wire-to-wire 84-68 victory over Northern Arizona Thursday night at Desert Financial Arena.
ASU used stiff three-point defense and a fast break barrage to get the jump on the Lumberjacks early. In front of the Sun Devil faithful, Bobby Hurley improved to 2-0 for the first time since an 8-0 start in 2018-19 and moved to 34-7 in non-conference home matchups.
DJ Horne led the way with 25 points on an efficient 7-of-11 shooting, establishing a new high scoring mark as a Sun Devil. Devan Cambridge (16) and Warren Washington (12) each reached double figures in addition to having a major impact on defense. Frankie Collins operated an unselfish offense, dishing out eight assists as the Sun Devils shot 54% from the field.
KEY MOMENTS
- DJ Horne forced a foul on a three point shot with 11:31 left in the first half and opened up the ASU lead to eight at 15-7.
- The Sun Devils went on a 6-0 run in :20 on back-to-back triples by Devan Cambridge and Horne with less than seven minutes to go in the opening half.
- Horne drained a shot at 12:31 and ASU went on a furious run, knocking down nine straight field goals including a 4-4 mark from three-point range. The run lasted until 1:28 left in the first half.
- The hot shooting continued when Horne swished in a silky triple with 17:25 to play in regulation, forcing a Lumberjack timeout. That pushed the Sun Devil edge to 57-22, the largest lead of the game.
- After a brief NAU comeback attempt, Horne sealed the deal with a demoralizing trey with :44 seconds left in regulation.
FIRST HALF
The Sun Devils controlled all facets of the game from the opening tip. They took the lead at 19:25 on a Frankie Collins layup, 2-0, and never relinquished it.
An immediate and-one by Marcus Bagley extended the ASU advantage.
The painted area also belonged to the Sun Devils early, as Warren Washington recorded ASU’s first of three total block with 17:41 to play in the first half.
ASU also jumped out to early edges in the intangibles, leading the Lumberjacks 8-0 in points in the point and 4-0 in second chance points at the first media timeout with 15:40 left in the opening half. They would lead in points in the paint, 16-6, at the half.
DJ Horne increased the Sun Devil advantage to eight, 15-7, with his fourth free throw of the night at 11:31 to play in the opening half.
The Sun Devils got the offense flowing as the half went on, leading 5-2 in fastbreak points with 7:51 to play. Austin Nunez took and made his first career trey in the stretch, also ASU’s first make from distance of the contest, at 8:31.
ASU brought the crowd fully into the contest as Collins found Devan Cambridge on the fastbreak for an aggressive alley-oop slam with 6:39 to go. The Sun Devils followed it up with another fastbreak dunk, this time from Collins to Washington with 6:10 to play.
Arizona State made nine straight field goals starting at 12:31 including back-to-back triples from Devan Cambridge and Horne. The Sun Devils also held NAU without a basket over the final 3:35 of the opening half.
SECOND HALF
ASU picked up right where it left off as Frankie Collins found Devan Cambridge for a fastbreak triple with 19:15 left in regulation and Horne forced an NAU timeout after knocking down a trey of his own with 17:25 to play.
The fast break fun continued for the Sun Devils as Alfonzo Gaffney fired a dart to Devan Cambridge for a boisterous alley-oop, ASU’s third of the game and fifth of the season.
Bagley extended the Sun Devil lead with 10:48 left, knocking in his first three-pointer of the game. The Sun Devils staved off every Lumberjack comeback attempt, sealing the victory.
DJ Horne’s fourth three-pointer of the night with :44 left pushed the lead to 17 and sunk any Lumberjack hopes.
QUOTABLES
“I think (the offense) flowed very well, Frankie (Collins) had eight assists,” Coach Hurley observed after the victory. “I was happy to see Warren (Washington) involved a little bit and DJ (Horne) had it going on making shots but I think the ball was moving pretty well and I felt like we were a little more relaxed out there. All of the statistical categories will back that up.”
“I would say that we were really just moving the ball a lot better today as a team and getting everybody better opportunities and our communication was better on defense,” Devan Cambridge remarked post game. “There was a lot of up-and-down, it was exciting.”
“I’m definitely looking forward to going on the road,” DJ Horne mentioned. “It’s tough to go on the road, and I know that we’re going to have to take a lot from this game and apply it to our next games and clean up the things that we were lacking tonight.”
NOTABLES
- ASU’s three-point defense through two games has been stifling, holding opponents to 1-20 (.05%) in the first half and 9-42 (21%) through two games.The Sun Devils controlled the paint and the fast break, winning both margins 30-22 and 22-8 respectively against NAU.
- Rebounding margin has also been significant for Arizona State. They have now won the offensive and total rebounding in both games this season, totaling a 31-15 edge offensively and 94-62 overall.
- Horne secured at least 20 points for the second time in his last three games and the ninth time in his college career. His 25 points are now his ASU career high.
- Joining Horne in double-figures were Bagley (12), Washington (12), and Devan Cambridge (16).
- Horne also made seven free throws and took nine, both career highs. Bagley accomplished the same feat, earning career highs in FTM (5) and FTA (7).
- Collins doubled his previous assist career high, tossing eight dimes. He also equaled his previous best with two steals.
- Freshman Austin Nunez knocked down his first career three pointer with 8:13 to play in the half. It was also the first attempt of his Sun Devil career.
- ASU has begun the season 2-0 for the first time since the 2018-19 season when they started 8-0.
- The Sun Devil’s 80th victory against NAU is their second most against any opponent in program history (Arizona, 85).
UP NEXT
ASU hits the road for the first time in the 2022-23 campaign, heading to Houston to face Texas Southern Sunday at 1:00 MST.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Connor Smith
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