Washington State Vs. Arizona State Final: Improved Ball Handling Key In Big Win Over Cougars

A game after one of their least impressive shooting performances of the season, the Sun Devils were on fire from the field for stretches Saturday, securing the win at home over the Cougars 71-67. Brock Motum did all he could for WSU with a new career-high in points (34) but Arizona State was able to pull it off thanks to a balanced effort with five of the seven players who logged a minute scoring nine or more points.

"It definitely was a big win for us," said Carrick Felix, who had a team-high 20 points. "We all executed, played together [and] shared the ball,"

Felix was also quick to point out one stat: for the first time all season, the Devils didn't lead the box score in turnovers (16 compared to WSU's 18). ASU also managed to total 18 assists including seven from Jonathan Gilling (a new career-high).

"I thought the key for us was our movement of the ball," Head Coach Herb Sendek said. "I loved the patience and the discipline that we're growing on offense."

With each Devil spreading around the ball so well on the court, ASU got some of their most open shot attempts of the season, especially from downtown. And the Devils took advantage of almost every single one, shooting as high as 72.2% from the field with a little over six minutes remaining in the first half.

"We made each other better throughout the game, especially {with] some terrific possessions in the first half," Sendek said.

This rhythm continued in the second thanks largely in part to Chris Colvin, who was involved in ASU's first nine points out of the locker room. The much-maligned point guard had one of his best games of the season, showing fans of the maroon and gold what he's really capable of (career-high 16 points plus six rebound and four assists).

"Trent went down...and I knew it was either step up or move on," Colvin said. "I chose to step up."

"[Colvin] arguably played his best game as a Sun Devil," Sendek said. "He's settling in and starting to get more comfortable in what we're doing."

Colvin's performance wasn't without blemish though. He had a crucial five second violation (which Sendek would later take the blame for) in the final minute that managed to give fans a scare. But Kyle Cain was able to come up with a big steal on the other end that ultimately sealed the victory for Arizona State.

Next up for the Sun Devils is another California road trip and they'll look to continue their momentum into Thursday 7:00 pm match up against the Stanford (15-5). But for now, it's hard not to get caught up in the Devils' first win without their leader, Trent Lockett.

"This group has been through a great deal," Sendek said. "It's gratifying on a day like today where they finally get some taste of reward for all of their efforts and perseverance."

Other Game Notes:

• Jordan Bachynski was inserted in the starting lineup tonight and responded by have his third straight solid game, making all five shots he attempted for a career-high 11 points, two rebounds and two blocks in seventeen minutes. Although he was in foul trouble the entire contest and eventually ended up fouling out, Sendek says fans might continue to see more of J.B. in the starting five: "Jordan started because he earned it...the way Jordan has played against Utah, Washington, and Washington State he's really coming on."
• For the fourth straight game, Chanse Creekmur was held scoreless. Although he didn't attempt a shot in this one, Creekmur did have two big steals and played solid defense in his 21 minutes.
• This marks the second straight game that Colvin and Gilling have played almost the entire 40 minutes (both with 38 minutes). It will be interesting to see if Lockett's return cuts into their playing time or if Sendek has liked what he's seen enough to keep them as key components.

Washington Vs. Arizona State Final: Devils Lacking Offensive Firepower For Comeback

The Sun Devils managed to hang around much longer than most expected but ultimately missed too many late free throws to keep up with the hot-shooting freshman Tony Wroten and his Huskies, falling 60-54 Thursday night in Tempe. Wroten lead all scorers with 22 points (9 of 12 shooting) but Jonathan Gilling (20 points) and Jordan Bachynski (13 rebounds) both set new career-highs in different categories.

"I thought we had a number of opportunities to make plays that would have allowed us to be in better position to win this basketball game," head coach Herb Sendek said. "It's the plays that were capable of making that we didn't that stand out to me right now."

Still, despite being extremely undersized compared to the visiting squad, the Sun Devils showed true grit around the rim, nearly matching Washington in the battle of the glass (35 to 34). But baskets were hard to come by early with both teams sitting at seven points over eight minutes into the contest. Surprisingly though, even with the Devils still turning over the ball at their usual immense rate, Washington wasn't able to capitalize in the first half.

Instead, despite attempting no free throws in the first 20 minutes, Arizona State went to the locker room with a two-point lead thanks to a Chris Colvin buzzer-beating layup. The defense though, was the real story of the first half, with the Devils holding the Huskies, who score 78 PPG (second best in Pac-12), to a mere 22 points.

"Tonight I feel like we had a lot of guys step up," Bachynski said.

But alas, the wheels came off to begin the second half as the Huskies went on a 17-3 run as the Devils couldn't buy a shot or a board.

"We need to focus on what we've been focusing on all week...defense and gang-rebounding," Bachynski said. "During that spurt when they went up, we didn't gang rebound."

Nevertheless, the Huskies still couldn't put the Devils away and Arizona State continue to slowly climb back around thanks to some poor free throw shooting by the visitors.

Then, with 1:39 left to play, Gilling hit his biggest shot of the night; a three that put ASU down by only four. But the dagger would only a few second later on the other end of the court, as multiple Devils juggled a rebound that was finally scooped up by Wroten, who flushed it in for an "and one." Arizona State would go on to miss a handful of important free throws which never allowed them to narrow the gap to one possession, leaving the team with that all-too-familiar sinking feeling in their guts.

"I'm just disappointed with the loss," Gilling said. "I really thought we could have beat these guys. I don't think they're any better than us."

The Devils get back to practice Friday before Washington State heads into town Saturday (tip-off scheduled for 3:00 pm).

Other Game Notes:

• Sendek still doesn't sound too optimistic about Trent Lockett's return for Saturday against WSU stating "we have to be prepared to play without him."
• Chanse Creekmur failed to log a point (0 of 4 shooting) despite playing 33 minutes. This marks his third straight scoreless game (all in Lockett's absence).
• Colvin didn't look sharp tonight with seven assists to six turnovers but fatigue may have been a factor with Sendek playing him 39 minutes due to lack of depth.
• Gilling didn't have his best shooting night despite the new career-high (6 of 16) but showed great confidence on both ends of the court, playing all but one minute of the game as well. Sendek on his lack of rest - "that's a pretty telling sign for a freshman."
• Sendek used "the twin towers" (Ruslan Pateev next to Bachynski) in this game for one of the few times this season and it returned mixed results. Bachynski believes "it creates a mismatch for either one of us." But at this juncture, Sendek is most proud of Bachynski's play after he has put together his two best games of the season back-to-back. Sendek on Bachynski - "I think going back to last week before the Utah game he decided he's going to be more of an animal."

Just Call Him Fat: Former ASU Great Lever Thrilled To Be Home

Lafayette "Fat" Lever returned to his alma mater Thursday night to have his number retired by the Sun Devils at Wells Fargo Arena.