ASU Men’s Basketball: Sun Devils fall to Texas Southern

(Photo: Max Zepeda/WCSN)

With 7:57 left against Texas Southern, sophomore guard Frankie Collins drained a free throw, giving Arizona State Men’s Basketball a 51-39 lead and its largest of the afternoon. The advantage was sparked by Collins and freshman guard Austin Nunez, who combined for 16 points over ASU’s massive 10-minute 23-7 run in the second half.

As the game progressed, the Texas Southern Tigers found their rhythm, scoring 18 of the final 24 points in regulation. Senior guard PJ Henry led the comeback, scoring 13 points in the final moments and the game-tying 3-pointer, sending the game to overtime.

With five seconds on the clock, the Sun Devils (2-1) rushed up the floor down by one. Collins was guarded by Henry, who poked the ball away after a hesitation move by Collins. The steal (1-2) sealed a 67-66 Tigers (1-2) overtime victory.

ASU held the lead for most of the game, in large part due to its percentage at the charity stripe, making 15 of its 17 free throw attempts. Head coach Bobby Hurley has emphasized aggression from his team, which was prevalent in Sunday’s match. An aggressive style of basketball can result in turnovers, but the Sun Devils only turned the rock over 13 times, while forcing 18 on the defensive end, seven of which came from steals.

The 18 turnovers were critical for the Sun Devils, who managed to string the change of possessions onto the scoreboard, notching 24 points off turnovers.

While Hurley’s offense has shown the ability to operate at a high level in transition, the Sun Devils struggled in that department Sunday, scoring just 10 points on fast breaks. Transitional offense didn’t arise often for Hurley’s squad, forcing them to settle into possession. On average, the Sun Devils’ scoring possessions lasted 15 seconds.

The struggle point for ASU was on the glass, which saw TSU win the rebounding battle 50-41. The problem on the boards stemmed from the Sun Devils’ defense, allowing 16 offensive rebounds. However, the defense allowed only 15 second-chance points.

The problems on the glass came to haunt the Sun Devils, especially late in the game.

On the Tigers’ final possession in regulation, graduate forward John Walker III launched an open three from the left wing. His shot hit off the rim, finding its way to freshman guard/forward Zytarious Mortle, allowing the offense to reset. The ball returned to Henry’s hands, who buried the tying 3-point shot.

As the Sun Devils head to Brooklyn for the Legend’s Classic on Wednesday, they could find themselves relying on the bench for minutes. On Sunday, Hurley inserted fifth-year guard Desmond Cambridge into the starting five after he missed the last game against Northern Arizona with a knee injury and moved junior guard DJ Horne to the bench. Additionally, sophomore forward Marcus Bagley sat out on Sunday for precautionary reasons due to a hip pointer. Contributions from the bench were evident against TSU, scoring 26 points.