TEMPE – Sun Devil Men’s Basketball orchestrated an epic comeback to claim their fourth straight win, defeating SMU 76-74 on Wednesday night in front of an electrifying crowd at Desert Financial Arena.
Arizona State (6-2) outscored the Mustangs 26-11 in the final 11:28 of the game to overcome a 13-point deficit, fueled by Frankie Collins’ and Jose Perez’s 25 second-half points. The duo combined to go 8-of-13 from the field after the break, with their competitiveness on both ends bringing their team back from a double-digit hole.
Perez led the Sun Devils with 20 points on the night, going 4-of-7 from the field and making 12 of his career-high 15 attempts at the charity stripe. Collins led the comeback with 14 second half points, finishing with 17 on an efficient 6-for-10 shooting from the field. He added six rebounds and was a menace on defense yet again, collecting four steals in the win. Alonzo Gaffney paced 11 points on the night, making all six of his attempts at the free-throw line.
KEY MOMENTS:
The Sun Devils would go on a 10-2 stretch from 15:36 to 12:54 to take an early 18-8 lead, assisted by seven Kamari Lands’ points.
SMU was able to go on a 7-0 stretch which contributed to having a 4-point lead going into halftime.
The Sun Devils managed to force eight Mustang turnovers and went 1-for-10 from the field in a 6:31 span which led to a 17-2 run, tying the game with 5:04 remaining in regulation.
Jose Perez’s free throws with 7.8 seconds left in the game put the Sun Devils ahead by four and the game out of reach, with SMU missing their next shot attempt.
NOTABLES:
After trailing 40-36 at halftime, the win gives Bobby Hurley his 41st halftime comeback at the helm of Sun Devil Men’s Basketball.
The win marks ASU’s 37th two-possession victory in the last five seasons.
The 37 wins are tied with Wisconsin for most in the country.The Sun Devils are now 2-2 when trailing at the half this season.
It’s also the first loss for SMU when they’ve scored 70 or more in a game this year.
The Maroon & Gold are now 2-0 this season in games decided by two points or less.
ASU now holds a 24-15 in two-point games since 2015.
The Sun Devils are off to a perfect 5-0 start at home for the second straight season.
Causing chaos on the defensive end, the Sun Devils forced SMU into 15 turnovers for the game, which is tied for the second most this season for the Mustangs.
ASU’s 32 makes from the charity stripe are the most in a game since Nov. 25, 2020 when the Sun Devils made 34 free throws in a win against Rhode Island.
FIRST HALF:
After SMU was able to score the game’s first basket, Jamiya Neal assisted Alonzo Gaffneywith a corner three to give ASU a 3-2 lead at 18:12 in the period.
Following SMU tying the game at four, Gaffney swished an open jumper to give him five early points, giving ASU a 6-4 lead. Jose Perez drained a pair of free throws to extend the lead to four with 15:49 remaining at the first media timeout.
The Mustangs were able to muster another bucket out of the break, but Frankie Collinsdrained his first three to put the Sun Devils ahead 11-6 at the 15:14 mark. Kamari Landswould then knock down a three and a jumper, 16-8 prompting an SMU timeout with 13:37 remaining.
Lands would knock a pair of free throws to extend the lead to ten with 12:54 left, leading 18-8 before SMU would drain two shots from the stripe to cut the lead back to eight at the 12-minute mark of the game.
Following the media timeout both teams traded three’s with ASU still holding a 21-15 advantage, but SMU drained back-to-back buckets to cut into the ASU lead, 21-19 with 7:58 left.
A pair of Gaffney free throws pushed the lead back to four, and Neal knocked down the team’s fifth three of the game, pushing the lead back to five, 26-21. But SMU responded with five straight points to tie the game and eventually took back the lead. 30-28 with under four minutes remaining.
After a scramble for the loose ball occurred, Perez found the open lane and drained a layup, tying the game 30-30, then completed the 3-point play giving ASU a 1-point lead with 3:25 left. SMU responded with a three of their own, but ASU tied the game with a pair of Selebangue free throws.
The Mustangs were able to go into halftime with a 40-36 lead after a 7-2 stretch in the final 2:19.
SECOND HALF:
Opening the half, Collins swiped his first steal which eventually led to an easy dunk to open the half. Perez responded to an SMU bucket to put the Sun Devils down 42-40 with 18:52. SMU drained a pair from the stripe to put them ahead by four.
Perez scored the next four points for the Sun Devils, still down 46-44 at the 16-minute mark in the game, but an up-and-under layup by Collins tied the game at 46 at the first media timeout.
After trading baskets on both sides, the Mustangs went 10-0 stretch to take a 61-50 lead at the 12:09 mark forcing a Sun Devil timeout.
Collins knocked down his second three of the game to halt the Mustangs’ run, cutting the deficit to ten with 11:06 to play. Perez drained a contested layup to make it 64-55 at the 10:06 left, then a pair of free throws at the 9:19 mark cutting the lead to seven. The Sun Devils managed five turnovers which cut the deficit to four points at the under-8 media timeout, 66-62 with 7:22 remaining led by Collins, Perez and Braelon Green.
After the stoppage, back-to-back dunks by Collins and Selebangue tied the game at 66 prompting the Mustangs to take a timeout. Collins proceeded to steal the ensuing in-bounds pass and slam-home two points, giving the Sun Devils a 68-66 lead.
After a block by Selebangue, it led to Neal assisting the junior to a slam extending ASU’s lead 70-66 with 3:35 remaining at the last media-timeout. Returning to play, SMU continued to struggle from the field, with a pair of free throws, ahead 72-66. But a mid-range jumper by the Mustangs broke the run, cutting into ASU’s lead 72-68 with two minutes remaining.
The Mustangs were able to knock down a free throw with 48 seconds left, but Lands drew a foul with 21 seconds remaining and calmly knocked down a pair from the line, giving ASU a 74-69 lead.
SMU called their last timeout with 11 seconds left and got a quick layup, then fouled Perez with 7.8 seconds left.
Perez then went 1-for-2 from the line, giving ASU a 75-71 lead. Following a quick ASU foul, SMU failed to convert from the line letting Neal knock down 1-of-2 from the stripe ultimately completing the comeback, winning 76-74.
UP NEXT:
Sun Devil Men’s Basketball will be traveling to California slated to take on San Diego. Tip-off is slated for 8:30 p.m. MST and can be seen on CBS Sports Network and can be heard on the radio waves on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM with Tim Healey and Kyle Dodd on the call. Conference games are available to purchase. Ticket packages start at just $90 and the home schedule features match-ups against top ranked USC, UCLA and Arizona.
Press Release courtesy Sun Devil Athletics – Connor Smith
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