34-10 run on the back of strong defense and transition offense leads ASU to comeback victory

(Photo: Madison Sorenson/ WCSN)

TEMPE – The midway point in the second half was approaching quickly, and an embarrassing truth for the Arizona State men’s basketball team was visible on the horizon – Georgia State, the 312th team in KenPom’s net rating, was putting its Big 12 opponent on upset watch.

Down by 10 with just under 12:00 to go, ASU needed a spark. With the teams back against the wall, senior guard Anthony “Pig” Johnson delivered.

The NAIA transfer from the University of the Cumberlands stripped Panthers junior forward Anthony Enoh from behind and started sprinting down the court with authority. When Johnson stopped running, it was because he began to soar – his right arm outstretched before viciously tomahawking the basketball through the net as if it were a child’s toy.

The spark was delivered.

Johnson’s ferocious dunk propelled ASU (3-1) on a 10-1 run to take the lead from GSU (1-4), and never let off the gas pedal. The final whistle only blew after ASU had completed a 34-10 run to emphatically defend its home court of Desert Financial Arena with a 75-62 Monday night victory.

“Our activity picked up considerably on defense,” ASU head coach Bobby Hurley said. “Pig stole the ball a few times and dunked it. The crowd got into it, and then we got more confidence, and you could tell (GSU) were very tentative with how they were handling the pressure. That even empowered us more to try and be more disruptive, and that’s what I think led to those baskets.”

The Sun Devils clawed their way back into the game and established their lead on the back of disruption.

They stifled the Panthers’ offense with a full-court press and defensive switching, forcing the visiting squad to shoot a paltry 26.9% from the field and 23.1% from three in the second half, committing 12 turnovers along the way. ASU didn’t let those mistakes and misses go to waste, scoring 18 points off turnovers and 17 fast-break points in the final 20 minutes of game action.

“As the game wore on … the coaches wanted to start switching one through five,” Hurley said. “That really gave them some issues in their half-court offense, and the press, obviously, was a shot in the arm for us.”

Key points of ASU’s comeback can be traced back to those good defensive possessions.

Sophomore guard Noah Meeusen’s first collegiate steal in his first collegiate game led to a pull-up jumper from senior guard Moe Odum, tying the game.

The lead was snatched after Odum launched a fastbreak three following fellow guard, junior Bryce Ford, hauling in a defensive rebound at the end of a strong defensive trip.

When freshman center Massamba Diop made back-to-back attempts from the field to extend the Sun Devils’ lead over double digits, it was on the back of a GSU turnover and defensive rebound.

“It was great that we didn’t put our heads down and say ‘Woe (is) me,’” Hurley said. “This team is coming in and we dug into the game and made the necessary plays.”

The Sun Devils easily could’ve let this one slip away after halftime. For as good as they did limiting the Panthers in the second half, they could hardly get them to miss in the first, especially from beyond the arc.

GSU entered the game shooting 34.3% from three-point range across its first four games, but entered its locker room having knocked down 6-12 from deep in the first half. Weak closeouts and an ASU team that looked lost at times on the defensive end allowed for many of those attempts to be uncontested.

“We let them get comfortable hitting threes,” Hurley said. “The basket was like this big for a while for them because of how good we allowed them to feel at that end.”

On top of playing lackluster defense, the Sun Devils couldn’t find the bottom of the net – the ghost of the team’s poor efficiency against Gonzaga two nights before still hanging around.

ASU struggled to the tune of 40.6% from the field and 2-of-14 from three-point range

The team secured a brief 10-0 run to snag a 32-27 lead with the first half winding down, but then proceeded to allow GSU to run all over itself with a 12-2 run in the last 5:41 of game action, while failing to score a single point in the final 4:44.

Odum, who has taken on a leadership role, spoke to the team and individual players at the break, trying to get them into a rhythm. Safe to say it worked.

“I said some things to them in the locker room,” Odum said. “They responded really well. The coaches said our bench points was 17-4 at first half. Pig came out and scored 13 points off the bench, so he responded well. Pig was slow (in the) first half, I spoke to Pig, he responded well.”

All 13 of Johnson’s points came in the second half, leading the Sun Devils in that category during their comeback over the final 20 minutes. His impact was partially made possible by the extra layer that was added by Meeusen, making his debut after missing the first few games of the season with an injury.

The native of Belgium only scored two points, but was a key figure on defense and his ability to play off Odum as a secondary ball handler opened up Johnson’s game as a slashing shooting guard.

“That’s where he should be,” Hurley said on Johnson playing as a two guard. “I think that’s where he’ll be the best for us. Getting Noah back and getting him comfortable again, thought he looked really good for a guy that hasn’t had a lot of reps for the last couple of weeks. That’ll hopefully enable Pig to just be disruptive out there.”

The Sun Devils avoided calamity with their strong second half. If the team can play the way they did over the second half for a full 40 minutes, they can make themselves and an uncomfortable opponent for the rest of non-conference action, including at the Maui Invitational, right around the corner.

“I know coaches use the word ‘trap game,’” Hurley said. “This was a perfect trap game for us. Just based on everything we have going: the Gonzaga game, what that took out of us, and then getting ready to head out tomorrow morning early to go to Hawaii.”