(Tempe, AZ) Jose Perez went for a season-high 26 points to help Sun Devil Men’s Basketball open their home Pac-12 Conference slate with a 82-70 win over Utah on Thursday night
Arizona State (9-5, 3-0) made their return to Desert Financial Arena a successful one by improving to 3-0 in conference games for the first time since 2012-13. The Sun Devils ended the game making seven of their final nine shots over the final 6:25 of the game as Jose Perez scored a season high 26 points, followed by Frankie Collins with 19 and Adam Miller adding 13 points. Collins contributed 14 of his 19 points in the second half, including nine straight points for ASU.
The Maroon and Gold shot 30-for-60 from the field – an efficient 50% for the game – while holding a red-hot Utah offense to going 13-of-33 (39.3%) shooting in the second half.
KEY MOMENTS:
- Back-to-back steals by Collins and Neal started a 16-4 stretch over 6:04 to take a 19-12 lead with 11:37 left in the first half. Four different Sun Devils made their way into the scoresheet forcing three steals.
- After being down 36-35 with 1:19 remaining in the first half, Jose Perez scored five of the last six points for the Sun Devils to take a 41-36 lead going into halftime.
- Utah went on a 3:30 scoring drought from 10:05-7:05 in the second half, going 1-for-8. This prompted the Sun Devils to extend the lead to eight with seven minutes left in regulation.
- The Sun Devils outscored the Utes 21-8 in a 7:30 span, cashing in on four threes’ and going 7-of-10 from the field in that span to take a 78-63 lead which ultimately put the game out of reach.
MILESTONE ACHIEVED
Bobby Hurley secured his 150th victory as the head coach of Sun Devil Men’s Basketball. The win makes him just the third coach in program history to win 150 games at ASU.
FIRST HALF:
Alonzo Gaffney knocked down an open three to open scoring for the Sun Devils after back-to-back Utah baskets, pitting ASU down 5-3 at the 18:09 mark.
Following another Utah three, the Sun Devils made back-to-back steals which led to layups by Frankie Collins, Jamiya Neal and a contested jumper by Jose Perez to take a quick 6-0 run in 85 seconds at the 15:38 mark, prompting the first media timeout.
Collins banked a three following a Utah basket to halt the Sun Devil’s momentum, retaking a 12-10 lead in ASU’s favor, then following a steal by Neal was a Perez layup to extend the lead to four with 13:37 left.
The lead for the Sun Devils would extend to six after Collins assisted a Shawn Phillips Jr jumper, 16-10, but on the ensuing possession Utah converted to bring the lead back to four.
Phillips forced his way through two Utah defenders to successfully draw an and-one to put the Sun Devils ahead 19-12 with 11:37 remaining at the under-12 stoppage.
Shawn Phillips found an open Adam Miller cutting to the basket to halt a 5-0 stretch for the Utes, but a Utah three cut the lead to one, 21-20 forcing Bobby Hurley to take ASU’s first timeout with 8:49 left.
Each side traded baskets as Adam Miller drained a three from the right-wing putting the Sun Devils ahead 24-22 at the under-8 media timeout.
Utah made two straight baskets to take a 27-24 lead, then Neal responded with a right-wing three, assisted by Alonzo Gaffney to tie the game at 27. Both sides traded baskets, with five straight points scored by Jose Perez’s to put the Sun Devils down one, 33-32 with 3:11 left in the opening half.
Both Utah and the Sun Devils traded three’s coming out of the break. With 1:19 remaining Phillips went 1-for-2 from the charity stripe the bring the game to a 36-36 tie. Jose Perezdrained a three from the top of the key, then proceeded to notch his first steal of the game to assist Neal on an alley-oop prompting a Utah timeout with 22.6 left in the first half with ASU ahead 41-36.
SECOND HALF:
Frankie Collins opened up the second half with a steal and a layup to put the Sun Devils ahead 43-36, but Utah responded with a contested layup bringing the lead back to five in the first 60 seconds of the half.
The Utes cut the lead to three but Perez drained a free throw and Gaffney caught a lob from Miller to bring the ASU lead back to six, 46-40. The Utes added two free throws with ASU ahead with 15:46 in regulation.
The Sun Devils broke a four minute scoreless streak with a Phillips Jr. layup but the Utes cut the lead to one with 13:46 remaining in the game, 48-47. Collins responded with sinking his second three of the game from the right-wing, 51-47. ASU would sustain a two point lead going into the under-12 timeout, 51-49.
Collins made a fadeaway jumper out of the timeout to bring the lead back to four, and sank two free throws to extend the Sun Devils’ lead back to six, 55-49. But the Utes drained a triple to cut the lead back to three and added a free throw cutting the deficit back to two.
The junior proceeded to break a 2:17 scoreless stretch for the Sun Devils with a high-lofted layup giving ASU a 57-53 cushion. Perez followed with a mid-range jumper putting the lead up six with 7:04 left in the game. After back-to-back free throws by Miller gave ASU an 61-53 lead,
Collins responded after a Utah layup with his second three of the contest, then assisted Perez with a three of his own, and ultimately Miller cashing in his third three of the game forcing a Utah timeout with ASU ahead 70-59 with 4:57 left.
Returning from the timeout, ASU stayed within rhythm with Shawn Phillips bullying his way to the basket, then Perez draining his fourth three of the game to give the Sun Devils a 75-59 lead, the biggest of the night with 3:53 left.
Both sides traded baskets to end the game with the Sun Devils coming away with an 82-70 victory.
UP NEXT:
Sun Devil Men’s Basketball will stay at Desert Financial Arena to host Colorado tip-off at 6:00 p.m. MST before a road tilt against Washington on January 11. Coverage can be seen on ESPNU along with being heard on the radio waves on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM with Tim Healey and Kyle Dodd on the call.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Zach Wargo
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