(Photo Credit: Alyssa Buruato/WCSN)
25 seconds is the total amount of time Arizona State men’s basketball (2-1) led in Thursday night’s matchup against UMass Lowell (3-1).
Junior guard Frankie Collins’ go-ahead layup with 2.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter proved the dagger, capping off a 17-4 ASU run to end the game. Collins’ downhill speed and athletic ability allowed him to finish through contact putting his team up when it mattered most.
“We got Frankie downhill,” head coach Bobby Hurley said. “We wanted to set a ball screen somewhere near halfcourt, [junior forward] Bryant [Selebangue] set a good screen which turned him loose and we wanted to attack the basket.”
ASU defeated UMass Lowell 71-69 in a Thursday night thriller from Tempe. Graduate transfer guard Jose Perez had a game-high 20 points shooting 7-for-9 from the field.
“My teammates were confident in me,” Perez said. “I feel like I wanna get touches not to score but to get other people involved, at the end of the day I want to win, I feel like it’s a good step in the right direction.”
The Sun Devils’ second half was a step in the right direction, scoring 49 points and shooting 55% from the field as a team. This was a night-and-day shift from an offensive showing in the first half that yielded just 22 points at halftime.
ASU players understand the importance of early-season wins. The Sun Devils’ 23-13 record last season only managed to earn an 11-seed in the NCAA tournament, so any slip-ups can prove costly come March.
“I told them in the huddle,’This is a save our season kind of game, this is one of the games that can kill you in the NET [Rankings],’” Perez said. “We didn’t want to lose at home, and we came out with a win and that’s all that mattered.”
Despite offensive inconsistency, defensive effort played a key role for the second consecutive game for ASU. The Sun Devils forced 16 River Hawks’ giveaways in the second half, resulting in 24 points off of turnovers.
Hurley returned to the 1-2-2 press scheme that excelled against Texas Southern on Saturday. Graduate forward Alonzo Gaffney recorded his second straight four-steal game on Thursday, working at the top of the press and making it tough on opposing guards.
“It’s a team effort, my first initial trap will determine our defense for our possession,” Gaffney said. “We got three guys that can play at the top of the press like [junior guard/forward] Jamiya [Neal] and [sophomore forward] Kamari [Lands], we piggyback off each other.”
Lands played big minutes for the Sun Devils despite not starting for the first time this season. He was on the floor for the entire second half, as Hurley had plenty of trust in him down the stretch despite not starting him.
“I have tremendous belief in him,” Hurley said. “As of today in my view we have six starters and so one guy is not going to start, and I just thought we needed to change something.”
ASU has not fired on all cylinders just yet, but the groundwork is being laid. The players have expressed belief in each other as the team continues to build chemistry.
“When you have positive energy amongst the whole team it just rubs off,” Perez said. “My positive energy rubs off on [Gaffney] and his positive energy rubs off on the next guy to make big plays down the stretch. It’s not about how you start, it’s about how you finish.”
