TEMPE, Ariz.- Despite a near-perfect game plan from CSUB, a phenomenal rebounding effort and a game that featured nine ties and 10 lead changes, Arizona State managed to knock down seven second-half three-pointers while breaking open the game late to defeat the 'Runners 74-59 Monday night.
“They made some shots they normally don't make and haven't been making this year and I thought our guys executed the game plan,” said CSUB head coach Rod Barnes. “We put ourselves in a really great position to win the game but they made some shots.”
CSUB led by as many as five in the game and worked a 40-40 tie with just over 11 minutes to play, that's when ASU leading scorer Tra Holder made three of the next four shots for the Sun Devils from beyond the arc to stretch the lead to eight.
“Their guard [Holder] really stepped up and shot the three well late, some of that was our breakdown…but I thought our kids fought hard and I thought we followed what we needed to follow to get a win on the road,” Barnes said. “We have to give them some credit, they made the shots when they needed to make them and we missed some shots we needed when we had the opportunity to move ourselves ahead,”
The Roadrunners would cut the lead to four points with 4:32 remaining but the 'Runners would go just 1-of-4 from the field in the next three minutes while turning the ball over three times, all the while ASU managed to stretch the lead to 13 points with a combination of field goals and free throws. The Roadrunners were just 12-of-33 in the second half from the field (37%) and 1-of-6 from three-point range. ASU shot 54% in the second half from the field coupled with their 64% three-point shooting.
Defensively CSUB dominated the game, forcing ASU to abandon their offensive sets in favor of three-point shots, unfortunately for CSUB, the Sun Devils, who entered as a 35% three-point shooting team, had a banner half led by Holder's career-high 23 points and 4-of-5 from three-point range. ASU converted just six field goals in the second half not from three-point range while converting on seven from beyond the arc.
The Roadrunners also won the battle on the glass, outrebounding ASU 46-29, despite ASU entering with a plus-seven rebounding margin, CSUB also managed to secure 18 offensive rebounds but scored just 11 second chance points due to their shooting woes. They also outscored ASU in the paint 32-22. CSUB trailed by one at the half.
“This game really helped us, we played a really physical team and outrebounded them and fought and I thought our kids did a really great job,” Barnes said. “I am disappointed because we came here to win, we didn't come here to tie or come here to lose so I know our guys in the dressing room aren't feeling very good but we just have to learn from it, get up and get into the next game.”
CSUB's top-scorer Damiyne Durham who entered averaging 15 points per game struggled to get free for shots and ended up with just two points on 1-of-7 from the field and 0-of-5 from three-point range. Kevin Mays who entered averaging 13 points per game had 10 rebounds, including seven offensive boards but was just 1-of-11 from the field. Aly Ahmed led the way with a season-high 19 points on 8-of-19 shooting while Jaylin Airington added 12 points on 2-of-6 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.
CSUB returns to action Thursday hosting Morgan State at the Icardo Center with a 1 P.M. New Year's Eve tip off. Tickets are available through Vallitix.com.
