ASU Men’s Basketball: Defense Holds Strong to Fend Off Creighton

Fresh off two wins against Oregon and GCU, Arizona State was playing some of their best basketball of the season entering their matchup against Creighton Tuesday night, where they were hoping to extend their win streak to three games.

Luckily for the Sun Devils, they did just that, beating the Creighton Bluejays 58-57 in another game that came down to the wire.

The Bluejays of the Big East Conference opened the game with a one-handed slam from senior guard Alex O’Connell, which immediately got the Creighton crowd going.

The Sun Devils kept the first half tight, tying the game 24-24, with just under four minutes left in the half. Then the Bluejays closed out the last four minutes with an 8-2 run, to end the half up 32-26.

Even though they went into their locker room trailing, the Sun Devils had to have felt good about their performance, especially on the defensive end.

They were able to hold Creighton to shoot 12-31 from the field, and just 3-13 from beyond the arc.

They were also able to hold Creighton’s leading scorer, senior forward Ryan Hawkins who averaged 14.5 points prior to Tuesday’s game, to just two points.

In Creighton’s previous two games, which came against No. 19 Iowa State, and No. 24 BYU, Hawkins was able to put up 25 points in each game, to go along with 13 total rebounds.

In the second half, Arizona State stayed within striking distance of the Bluejays early, keeping the six-point deficit eight minutes into the period.

However, the Sun Devils were able to completely turn the game around, behind a 12-2 run mid second quarter.

The run was sparked by senior guard Marreon Jackson, who went on a personal 7-0 run. Jackson was able to get his points from a three-pointer, and two drives to the rack.

A big reason why ASU was able to pull out the victory was their aggressiveness around the rim. In the second half alone, the Sun Devils were able to outscore Creighton 22-12 in points in the paint. The Sun Devils also finished the second half shooting 48% from the field, going 14-29.

Although ASU’s offense was a major part of their victory Tuesday night, their defense is what ultimately won them the game. They held Creighton to only nine made shots in the second half, holding them to 2-12 from three-point range.

The game sealing play came on the defensive end for ASU.

With Creighton down 58-57 with 6.4 seconds remaining, freshman guard Ryan Nembhard had one last chance to win the game, but was hounded by the long arms of ASU sophomore guard DJ Horne, forcing him to throw up an unbalanced three-pointer which clanked off of the left side of the rim.

The Sun Devils will return to Tempe, Arizona, where they will face the 10-0 San Francisco Dons on Sun. Dec. 19, hoping to extend their win streak to four games.