(Photo: Tyler Rittenhouse/WCSN)
For the second straight year, the Arizona State Sun Devils dominated the Arizona Christian University Firestorm, putting up a 104-76 final score against the NAIA opponent.
To the naked eye, ASU was dominant; winning the game by 28 points with six of the 14 players putting up double digits. The awe-inspiring numbers did not stop at the scoring either. The Devils lead the rebounding battle 60 to 35 and shot the ball at a 52.5 percent clip, whereas the Firestorm made just 22 of their 65 attempts.
The team’s scoring was undoubtedly a highlight for the Sun Devils. They looked hungry on offense even on a night where coach Bobby Hurley chose not to run any offensive plays. However, the offense’s firepower was put out by an ice cold night on defense.
“We gave up 49 three point shots and that’s way too many,” Hurley said. “I didn’t like the way we defended, especially in the second half. I expect better than that and that was my message to them in the locker room post game.”
Hurley talked a lot about his team’s poor defense and for good reason. The Firebirds, an NAIA team whose tallest player is 6’8 put up 76 points against a team that was once regarded as a defensive powerhouse. Last year, the Devils held the Firebirds to just 56 points and put up triple digits at the same time.
Even the players recognized the issue. Romello White, a sophomore that Hurley fully expects to rely on this year shared the same sentiment Hurley did.
“I was disappointed in us just like coach was,” he said. “There was a lack of communication tonight and we allowed them to grip it and rip it from behind the arc tonight. That is unacceptable.”
Hurley said he expects to work on communication and defensive aggressiveness in practice this week; focussing on things that caused the veteran coach to be displeased with an offense that was so potent. When asked if he could draw positive from the game, Hurley had none.
“The lights were on, they wore uniforms out there and we warmed up,” he said. “That’s about it tonight.”
For the team’s focal point players- White, Zylan Cheatham, Luguentz Dort and Taeshon Cherry- the night may have been better than just lights, uniforms and warmups.
The offense was not just a story for the team, it trickled down to the individuals. Cheatham played like he was ready to start the season. A flexible forward from Phoenix, put up 14 points to go along with 11 rebounds and 6 assists. White finished the game with 15 points and 11 boards. Dort, a freshman from Canada filled in for the injured Remy Martin, scored 16 points, good for second on the team.
The only player with more was the team’s top recruit, Cherry. The young power forward finished the night with 17 points and eight rebounds in a night that his coach said was filled with, “valuable minutes from Taeshon.”
The Devils will look to put one and two together next week when they host Cal State Fullerton in the regular season opener. Hurley hopes to have Martin available for the matchup after he missed preseason time due to an ankle injury.
Basketball is a puzzle. You cannot complete it without all the pieces and in the team’s only exhibition game before the season, the puzzle was incomplete. Put it together, however, and ASU has a potent team with a lot of potential.
