ASU Men’s Basketball: Sun Devils fall to Sacramento State in season-opener

(Photo: Scotty Bara/WCSN)

The Arizona State Sun Devils started off sluggish against Sacramento State and were not able to overcome a string of shooting woes in a 66-63 loss on Friday night.

The first full half of the season was not great for ASU, who had a tough time getting anything going on the offensive end. The Sun Devils started the first half 0-for-8 from behind the three-point line and were forced into many tough, contested looks. The team shot just 35 percent from the floor in the half.

Free throws were also a huge issue for the Sun Devils, who went a measly 3-for-8 from the charity stripe. Nerves seemed to come into play and it took a while for ASU to find a groove in any spot on the floor.

The lone bright spot in the first 20 minutes of action came from senior guard Gerry Blakes. Blakes led all scorers with 11 points at the half on 5-for-9 shooting. He hustled on defense, scrapped for loose balls and genuinely looked like the best player on the court. The team, however, did not follow his lead and ASU went into the half trailing 23-29.

The second half looked like a completely different squad. The Sun Devils came out sharp and focused. They spread the ball around and finally started making open looks. With 11:37 left after an Eric Jacobsen free throw, ASU had opened up a 10-point lead at 48-38.

Then its shooting failed them.

ASU made only four field goals in the last 11 minutes of the game and Sacramento State made their shots when it mattered. The Hornets converted on their last five attempts from the field, including two huge three-pointers by junior guard Cody Demps. Demps nailed two clutch free throws with 24 seconds left to give Sacramento State the lead at 66-63 to give the game its final score. A missed three-pointer by Blakes with seven seconds left ended the game for good.

Player of the Game: Willie Atwood

Atwood was a big part of the push for ASU. He got hot and poured in all 11 of his points in the second half, eventually ending the Sun Devils’ three-point shooting drought. He was active on the boards securing 11 rebounds. Atwood was a big part of the defensive pressure applied to the Hornets as well as he played bigger than his 6-foot-7 frame and After the slow start to the game, he provided the spark and the team followed his lead.

Biggest Concern: Obinna Oleka

Oleka struggled mightily early in the game on both sides of the floor. He began the game 0-for-3 and looked out of sorts on offense. On defense, he did not rotate to help under the basket and gave up several uncontested layups. Physicality was an issue as well as Oleka had a hard time securing rebounds for ASU. Head coach Bobby Hurley effectively sat him for the entire second half.

Stat of the Night: 12 percent from three

The killer for the Sun Devils in the game was the lack outside shooting. ASU shot 12 percent from behind the arc, going 2-for-17 for the game. Blakes and junior guard Andre Spight combined to go 0-for-9 by themselves.  After losing McKissic, Barnes, and Gilling off of last year’s team, three-point shooting was expected to be difficult. But the abysmal shooting performance was the ultimate downfall for the Sun Devils.

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