(Photo: Rebecca Striffler/WCSN)
TEMPE – After suffering back-to-back losses for the first time this season, Arizona State men’s basketball appeared to have taken a step backward after its historic 11-1 start.
But the Sun Devils responded with a six-point victory against Washington State, who would go on to defeat No. 5 Arizona in Tucson a few days later. After hosting both schools within a week, head coach Bobby Hurley and his squad hoped to finish their three-game homestand with a victory against Washington.
On Sunday afternoon, ASU (13-3) improved to 4-1 in Pac-12 play for the first time since 2007-08, defeating the Huskies (9-8, 1-5 Pac-12) 73-65.
“It’s nice to get off to a fast start,” Hurley said. “I mean, I wish I could tell you I’m surprised. I’m not really surprised, just based on how we played in the nonconference. The caliber of opponents we played and what we were able to get done.”
Shooting woes haunted the Sun Devils in the first half, but their defense found success in the second half, leading to a strong offensive performance.
“Our defense again came through,” Hurley said. “Our offense wasn’t great in the first half. Missed a lot of shots. We could take some time adjusting to their style of defense. And it wasn’t only like missed 3s it was kind of shots in the paint we struggled to make.”
As the offense struggled to find its rhythm, the defense stood tall, holding Washington to 11 points for six minutes. The stalemate allowed the offense to gather itself, sparking an 11-0 run and a five-point advantage.
“And that was the message at halftime is that our offense hasn’t arrived yet, and we’re struggling to make shots,” Hurley said. “But we’re up two points because of how well we guarded. They had 11 [points] for a very long time. I don’t know how long we held them to 11 points, and while we got our feet under us at the offensive end.”
The defense’s intensity increased in the final 20 minutes, yielding a plethora of fast break opportunities. The Sun Devils took advantage of the occasions, finding many alley-oops and dunks as senior guard Devan Cambridge and sophomore guard Jamiya Neal were primarily the participants of the plays.
“I think our depth helps,” Hurley said. “… a number of their key players – minus [junior center] [Braxton] Meah, who had foul issues – played heavy minutes. I’m talking like 17, 18 minutes of that half. Against our pressure and making it difficult to catch passes throughout their offense and our pace.
“I think as the game wears on, it could potentially take its toll physically on a team getting back on defense as quickly. But overall, I think our individual defense was very good because they had a lot of guys that could go off the bounce at different positions. So, it was a major key for us to contain the ball and not have them getting to the pain.”
Neal’s play in the first half helped the Sun Devils stay afloat, scoring 12 of the offense’s 28 first-half points. The 6-foot-6 guard also put together a strong performance on the boards, grabbing seven first-half rebounds. Neal finished the game with 14 points and 11 rebounds, marking his first collegiate double-double and setting career highs in both categories.
“Coming off the bench, you gotta be ready,” Neal said. “You go as they go. So however they started the game, you gotta go off that. I’ve seen that my guys were off to like a start a slow start. So, I pride myself on trying to be a spark for this team. So I just tried to be there for my teammates and be there for my brothers.”
Neal also notched three assists, all three of which came on the fast break. Just before Neal’s second assist, Cambridge came up with a steal and passed it to Neal, sparking the transition. Neal didn’t hold the ball too long, passing it back to Cambridge for one of his seven dunks.
“But we’re kind of transitioning out of Guard U to like Lob U, I think,” Hurley said. “That’s what it was looking like in the second half, just really showcase of really good athleticism. And it wasn’t only in the open court. Jamiya had a couple against their zone, where we were able to get Devan on a cut on the backline.”
Cambridge tied his Sun Devil career-high of 18 points on Sunday, gathering 14 of them courtesy of dunks. The 6-foot-6 guard had a quiet first half, scoring only two points in 11 minutes. But Cambridge saw an aspect of his game that he thought could push ASU over the top.
“It was a good game for me, just showing energy,” Cambridge said. “I actually talked about this, like in a zone game I normally dunk like three or four times, and I was talking to the team before that. I was like, ‘just look for the lobs and stuff’. And they found me today. So, I appreciate them for that.”
Even with the many Sun Devil slams, and setting what he believed to be his career-high in dunks, Cambridge still believed there were more opportunities to showcase the program’s athleticism in the second half.
“We were just trying to drive more and attack if the shots weren’t falling, and get easier shots on the inside,” Cambridge said. “I think we missed a lot of easy bunnies. I think it felt like 15 of them.”
ASU picked up two conference wins during its three-game homestand and will now pack its bags for the first Pac-12 road trip against Oregon and Oregon State.
“Just having two good days of practice going into it. Just feeding off this game. I think we’re in a good spot right now,” Neal explained about the keys to the away games. “So, we hang our head on defense. Go into the games playing defense no matter if we make shots or not. Just playing hard and I think we’ll be okay.”
