Men's Basketball
ASU men's basketball team made a defensive statement in its 80-49 victory against Grambling State. The Sun Devils jumped on the Tigers early, taking a 12-0 lead thanks to junior point guard DJ Horne's early shot-making.
Horne finished the game with 15 points, three assists, and four rebounds, but the Sun Devils' defense was most impressive. This game was a defensive statement.
Grambling State's leading scorer, redshirt junior forward Carte'Are Gordon, did not play, and the Sun Devils took full advantage of his missing presence. They held the Tigers' starting unit in the first half to a combined 3-of-24 shooting from the field.
The Sun Devils led by 17 at the half and came into the second half shooting with hot hands. Point guard sophomore transfer Frankie Collins was the floor general, as he's been all season, and set up teammates for easy baskets all night. At one point in the second half, ASU broke the game open with an 18-1 run.
Collins finished the game with 11 points, six rebounds and seven assists. He has taken the responsibility of being the Devils' leader and floor general, thus allowing Horne to get his offensive game off freely. Horne led the Sun Devils in scoring last season, and so far, he's doing it again this season, averaging 13.1 points per game.
The Sun Devils shot the ball 56% from the field in the second half and 50% from three against Grambling State. Sun Devil sophomore forward Jamiya Neal returned from injury in this game. Neal posted three points, two rebounds, and three assists.
ASU has been on a tear since suffering its only loss of the season in overtime to Texas Southern University, and they are turning heads with their play on both sides of the ball.
The Sun Devils maintained their momentum against Alcorn State on Sunday afternoon. After a competitive first 16 minutes, ASU closed the half with a 12-2 run.
7-foot senior center Warren Washington recorded 14 points and seven rebounds and was dominant defensively in his 21 minutes, as ASU’s size was too much for the Braves, who do not have a player taller than 6-foot-8 on their roster.
Senior forward Devan Cambridge had 14 points and seven rebounds of his own, and Collins added 11 points, five rebounds and five assists while continuing to establish himself as the Sun Devils’ vocal leader.
The Sun Devils were again without sophomore forward Marcus Bagley, who has not played since he injured his hip in the team’s second game of the season against NAU. Bagley tweeted that he was “1000% healthy” after Tuesday’s game, and seemed disengaged from the team during Sunday’s game, neglecting to stand to high-five teammates and lingering toward the back of team huddles.
After the game, Bagley released a statement on Twitter:
The challenge of incorporating Bagley back into the lineup is compounded by the fact that ASU begins conference play this Thursday in Boulder against Colorado at 6:30 p.m.
Women's Basketball
The Sun Devils took a trip down to the Bahamas for the Goombay Splash tournament where they ended up going 1-1.
ASU opened up the tournament with a hard-fought win against American University. Junior guard Tyi Skinner continued her amazing start to the season finishing with a game-high 24 points.
The Sun Devils started the game off a little slow, but the guard play was the deciding factor in holding off the Eagles. Junior guard Jaddan Simmons helped carry the load with Skinner along with freshman guard Trayanna Crisp who had her best game of the season off the bench as she was able to finish with an efficient 12 points.
After defeating the Eagles, the Sun Devils faced off against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Irish are one of the most coveted and historic women’s basketball brands in the country and this was a huge opportunity to test head coach Natasha Adair’s squad at the beginning of the season.
After a fast start, the Sun Devils found themselves not only competing but leading at the half. It was Skinner and Simmons leading the charge again; however, in the end, Lauren Ebo and Notre Dame responded with two big scoring quarters to finish off the Sun Devils.
The Sun Devils continue their campaign on Nov. 30 as they visit cross-town rival GCU at 7 p.m.
Edited by Kathryn Field, Wyatt Myskow and Kristen Apolline Castillo.
Reach the reporters at awakefi3@asu.edu, asmit263@asu.edu, alkalmba@asu.edu and follow them @_alexwakefield, @AlfredS_III and @adokalm32 on Twitter.
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Addison Kalmbach is a reporter for The State Press Sports desk. He has previously worked for Detroit City FC and PHOENIX Magazine.
