KEY MOMENTS
- Collins and Horne hit consecutive layups in a :32, 4-0 run for ASU with 14:15 left in the opening half.
- ASU took its first lead with 5:41 to play in the first half on a Nunez corner trey.
- VCU took a 52-41 lead, their largest of the game, with 8:58 left in regulation.
- Frankie Collins scored nine consecutive Sun Devil points from 13:26-8:13 left in the game.
- An 8-0 Sun Devil run to tie the game at 56 was capped by back-to-back threes from DJ Horne and Austin Nunez with 5:08 left in regulation.
- Playing in a late game situation for the first time in his career, Brennan notched five points, three boards and a charge in the final 7:03 of the game.
- Desmond Cambridge cashed in a falling layup with 1:08 to play and put ASU ahead for good, 61-59.
FIRST HALF
The Sun Devils got their first points of the day on free throws from Devan Cambridge, followed by Warren Washington dropping in a layup after an offensive rebound at 17:54.
After starting the scoring with a layup :26 seconds into the game, VCU was held without a point for 2:58 over a 5-0 Sun Devil run early. Frankie Collins forced multiple calls for help in the backcourt with his on-ball defense.
Trailing 11-5, Collins whipped a pass through the lane into Desmond Cambridge Jr. for a layup. DJ Horne continued the attacking mentality for ASU, punching in a layup of his own at 14:15 for a quick 4-0 Sun Devil run in :32 from 14:47-14:15.
Fresh into the game, Austin Nunez snapped a 9-0 VCU run with his first bucket of the contest, knocking down a midrange jumper with 12:03 left in the first half.
Out of the media timeout, Washington erased a layup attempt at 11:02, ASU’s first block of the game. Continuing to hold the Rams without buckets, Nunez swooped in for another layup at 10:12, becoming the first Sun Devil with multiple baskets on the day.
A missed jumper and Horne rebound led to a loud slam by Washington at 9:30.
The Rams responded with a three, but Washington found his way to the basket for a layup and cut the VCU advantage to 22-17 at 8:35. The bucket brought him up to six points, three rebounds and an assist in just eight minutes.
The Sun Devils extended their run to 5-0 as Horne clicked off the first ASU triple of the day at 7:50 on a find from Alonzo Gaffney. The Rams led to 22-20 at the under-8 media timeout. ASU made its last four shots going into the television break and went on a 11-5 scoring stretch over 4:51 from 12:24-7:33 to bring them back into the ballgame.
Nearly two minutes went by before another bucket as Nunez cashed in a triple from the corner and gave the Sun Devils their first lead of the game at 23-22 with 5:41 left in the opening half. Desmond Cambridge Jr. knocked down the next Arizona State trey at 4:21, ASU’s sixth basket in its last eight shots.
Desmond Cambridge swatted a pass around the perimeter and the Sun Devil defense forced a 24-second violation, VCU’s seventh turnover of the first half with 2:33 left and AUS went into the half trailing 35-28.
SECOND HALF
ASU picked up its first three points of the half from the charity stripe and knocked in its first field goal on a Collins falling layup with 16:57 to play in regulation.
It was quickly followed by a Desmond Cambridge Jr. steal and slam, forcing a VCU timeout at 16:54. The Sun Devils trailed by just two, 37-35. The slam capped a 6-0 run over 1:23 from 18:17-16:54. VCU was without a field goal for 2:36 heading into the timeout.
Neither team could establish rhythm early in the second as in the first four minutes, there were three total made field goals, three technical fouls and eight personal fouls.
VCU took a double-digit, 49-39 with 9:39 left. Collins snapped a Sun Devil cold streak from the floor with a fade-away jumper with 9:18 left and threw down a baseline jam on the next possession cutting the deficit to 52-43.
Collins then flew down the lane for an and-one and made the free throw with 8:13 left. He scored three consecutive Sun Devil baskets. On the next VCU possession, Nunez forced pressure in the backcourt and the Rams committed an offensive foul, their 13th turnover of the game with 8:08 left.
The Sun Devils refused to go away. Off a Rams miss, DJ Horne cashed in a transition trey from the corner, ASU’s first of the half at 5:43 on an assist from Collins. ASU tied the game at 56 on an Austin Nunez triple, his second of the game with 5:08 to play, prompting a Rams timeout. The Sun Devils totaled an 8-0 run over 1:12 and VCU was held without a basket for 3:38 into the timeout.
Brennan, playing crunch time minutes for the first time in his career, forced a charge in the paint with 3:57 left, giving ASU the ball back down one, 57-56. The turnover held VCU without a basket over the last 5:01.
Brennan smacked a shot away with 3:06 left in regulation and ASU grabbed the ensuing rebound. Brennan was fouled on the fastbreak and knocked in his first free throw before grabbing his own offensive rebound and putting in the layup at 2:51. It gave ASU their first lead since 5:41 left in the first half.
Tied with 1:28 left, DJ Horne raced back in transition after a Sun Devil turnover and forced a massive charge, giving ASU possession, tied at 59.
Desmond Cambridge Jr. would not be denied on the next play, falling sideways to put ASU ahead 61-59 with 1:08 to play.
Phenomenal on-ball defense by Devan Cambridge forced a bad Rams shot with :26 seconds left and ASU extended their lead to four, the largest Sun Devil lead of the game, with 21.8 seconds to play.
QUOTABLES
Arizona State Head Coach Bobby Hurley
On the second half comeback…
Our resiliency after a tough loss Sunday, we locked down and played with great energy. We got great contributions from Duke Brennan and Austin Nunez, freshmen coming in energizing the team. We also got three charges late in the game, which is something that all coaches love and look for. If you do those little things it all adds up to playing the type of defense that you want to play.
On the chance to play for a tournament title…
New York is a great basketball city, there’s so much history here and to play a storied program in a big-time environment is very exciting for our guys. They have given me every indication that they’re up for it and really looking forward to tomorrow.
NOTABLES
- The Sun Devils closed the game on a 16-5 scoring stretch over the final 7:03. ASU trailed 54-48.
- The Sun Devil defense stifled VCU, allowing just four field goals in the second half and none over the final 8:58 of regulation.
- Nunez (10) Brennan (5) totaled all 15 of ASU’s bench points. Both tallies were career highs. Nunez had seven of his 10 in the first half.
- Opponents are shooting less than 18% against the Sun Devils from three point range in the first half of games this year at 7-39.
- After ASU forced VCU to a 6-23 mark from long distance, the Sun Devils are now holding opponents to 21-80 (26%) from three in four games this season.
- Coming off a 23 point output, Collins’ 15 points to lead all scorers marked the first time in his career that he has recorded double-digit scoring outputs in back-to-back games.
- ASU won the rebounding battle 37-35 including an 11-8 margin on the offensive glass. The Sun Devils picked up two offensive rebounds on missed free throws by the shooter in the final five minutes of the game. The Sun Devils have won the total and offensive rebounding battle in all three wins this year.
- The four point margin is ASU’s third two-possession game in its first three contests, now 2-1. The Sun Devils are now 25-12 in two possession games over the last three seasons, the most in the Pac-12.
- ASU notched its first neutral site victory since a 94-88 triumph over Rhode Island at the 2020 2k Empire Classic on November 25, 2020.
- The Sun Devils move to 2-1 all-time at the Barclays Center, while VCU’s record falls to 12-7 at the home of the Brooklyn Nets.
UP NEXT
Arizona State earns a duel with the #20 Michigan Wolverines at 7:00 MST/9:00 EST from the Barclays Center Thursday night. The Wolverines defeated Pitt 91-60 in their first round matchup. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Josh Schwam, Graduate Media Relations Intern
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