The Sun Devils outscored the Panthers 41-23 in the second half, moving to 3-1 on the season.
(Tempe, AZ) Sun Devil Men’s Basketball moved to 3-1 to start the season after defeating Georgia State, 75-62, on Monday night at Desert Financial Arena.
Unlike in their first two wins in which Arizona State controlled the action and never trailed, ASU found themselves trailing by double figures in the second half. Head Coach Bobby Hurley‘s team showed their signature resilience, erasing a five-point halftime deficit to earn their 48th come-from-behind victory in the Hurley era, a total that ranks Top-40 nationally since 2015-16.
The Sun Devils completely dominated the second half, outscoring the Panthers 41-23. They held their opponents to just 26.9% (7-of-26) from the field and 3-of-13 (23.1%) from three point range in the second half. ASU also outrebounded Georgia State 22-13 and had an 8-3 edge in assists while forcing 12 Panther turnovers over the final 20 minutes.
Senior point guard Moe Odum was the catalyst of the comeback, delivering his best game as a Sun Devil so far. He finished with 24 points, nine assists, and five steals while shooting 10-of-19 (52.6%) from the field in 31 minutes of action. Odum continues to be on pace to have one of the most productive passing seasons in program history, dishing out 30 assists through four games.
Joining Odum in sparking the second half rally was freshman center Massamba Diop. He recorded his first career double-double, finishing with 15 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks, and a steal on 5-of-7 shooting in 30 minutes. He was a game-high +21, making an impact on both ends of the floor. Anthony “Pig” Johnson made the most of his time off the bench, adding 13 points and four rebounds in only 17 minutes. Sophomore guard Noah Meeusen made his Sun Devil debut, playing 17 minutes including critical possessions during the second half momentum swing.
Notables
After tonight’s win, Head Coach Bobby Hurley is starting the season 3-1, the ninth time during his time in Tempe.
The Sun Devils have continued to finish with more fast break points than their opponents, scoring 27 today. Before today’s game, ASU was averaging 19.3 fast break points, the 38th-best total in the nation.
Massamba Diop played aggressive and earned his first career double-double with 11 rebounds and 15 points. This was the third game in a row that a Sun Devil accomplished a double-double, with Santiago Trouet earning one in the previous two games.
In Noah Meeusen’s Sun Devil debut, he contributed in many ways during his 17 minutes of action. He finished with two points, 3 rebounds, and was a +9 off the bench.
ASU capitalized on turnovers in the first half, scoring 9 points off of 6 turnovers. By the end of the game, ASU only allowed 10 turnovers while forcing 18.
40 of the Sun Devils’ 75 points came from within the paint, the most scored this season. They ended with double the amount of points from the paint as the Panthers (40-20).
Of ASU’s 75 points, 19 were bench points, an area the Sun Devils have been successful in all season.
Georgia State started the game 6-of-12 (50%) from three-point range, but went 3-for-13 (23.1%) down the stretch to finish at 36% for the game.
Georgia State took a 54-44 lead with 12:44 left in the second. The Sun Devils proceeded to go on a 20-1 run over the next 5:51 to claim a 9-point lead. After falling behind 52-41, which was their largest deficit with 14:20 left, ASU finished the game on a 34-10 run, outscoring the Panthers by 24 over the last 18:20.
First half
Senior guard Moe Odum got the action started for the Sun Devils by finding junior forward Andrija Grbović on a back-door reverse layup. Moe Odum continued to command the offense, coming off a pick and roll look and converting an and-1 floater that gave ASU a 7-2 lead at the 17:19 mark. ASU led GSU 9-8 before the Sun Devils called for a timeout.
Following the media timeout taken at 15:19, sophomore guard Noah Meeusen made his debut appearance for the Sun Devils and immediately found his way to the line, converting on his first two attempts of the year. Going into their second media timeout at 10:19, ASU trailed by a score of 18-15.
Moe Odum continued to be the aggressor for ASU coming out of the break. On two straight trips down the floor, he created his own shots and sank consecutive pull-up jumpers, one drawing a foul, to record his 10th point in 12 minutes. The maroon and gold trailed 27-22 as the third media break came about with 7:58 left in the half.
Coming out of the break, ASU turned up the heat on defense picking up Georgia state full court and the results quickly followed. Moe Odum was able to successfully rip the ball from the Panthers on twice and that resulted in two easy buckets on the other end and forced a GSU timeout. Yet the basket began to look giant for the Sun Devil guard as he came down and nailed a transition three for his 15th points of the half which capped a 10-0 run with ASU now ahead 32-27.
The Panthers showed their fight and evened out the score at 34-34 as the final media timeout was issued with 2:15 till halftime. The Panthers were able to pull ahead to finish out the half up 39-34.
Second half
ASU got their first scoring chance of the half as Moe Odum offered a low-post dish off to Massamba Diop for an and-1 finish. Georgia State connected on a few shots in transition that pushed the score to 48-37 as ASU took a timeout with 17 minutes in the half. The first media timeout of the second period came at 15:48 as the Sun Devils trailed 39-48.
ASU continued to force turnovers on defense. Coming up with a steal from Moe Odum and a fastbreak two handed-flush from senior Anthony “Pig” Johnson. Johnson got things going for the Sun Devils as he scored seven straight points for the offense as they worked at a 46-54 deficit going into the second media timeout at 11:36.
The Sun Devil defense turned a new leaf following the break. Making good on their opportunities to score, the Sun Devils would hit on 4-of-5 attempts down the court, including two fast break threes from Moe Odum and junior Bryce Ford that punctuated a 14-1 scoring run. The Sun Devils turned up the heat and flipped the score 60-55 on The Panthers before the third media timeout at 8:11.
Arizona State kept their foot on the gas, forcing two team turnovers and converting two layups. The Sun Devil run was extended to 20-1 and a score of 64-55 in just over five minutes of play. The entered its final media timeout of the game with a score of 66-59 and 3:59 left to go.
Refusing to let off, the Sun Devils ran through the finish line and came away with a 75-62 victory over The Panthers at the sound of final buzzer.
Quotables
Opening statement
Arizona State Head Coach Bobby Hurley
“It wasn’t the cleanest game in the world, and it felt dangerous at times. But I thought our pressure was the key in the second half. We knew they turned it over about 14 times a game, and when we did it in the first half during that one stretch, it was effective. It was great that we didn’t put our heads down and say, ‘Woe is me’; we dug into the game and made the necessary plays. I thought (Anthony) “Pig” Johnson’s energy and getting in the open court — aside from Massamba (Diop) and Moe (Odum), who you could put in their own category — but addressing the team after, I thought Noah (Essengue) and “Pig” specifically, what they did in that stretch defensively turned the game around for us. I’m happy for those guys. I’m happy we were able to escape with the win today. It’s not the easiest game for a lot of reasons. I don’t think I felt 100% today, so I can’t say our players did either, with the level of game we played Friday night in a very late game, and then to play here again. It’s kind of a whole different vibe, and it’s hard to match the same effort. So it was a tough game, particularly with the bags packed, getting ready to get on a plane tomorrow morning to go to Hawaii.”
Up next
Sun Devil Men’s Basketball will travel to Honolulu, Hawaii, to take on the University of Hawaii on November 20th at 10 p.m. MST. Coverage can be seen on Spectrum Sports. On the same trip, Arizona State participates in the 2025 Maui Invitational.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Connor Smith
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