Old Spice Classic 2011: ASU Can't Complete Comeback Against DePaul, Finish 1-2 In Tournament
Arizona State lets one slip through their fingers in the final seconds of the fifth place game in Orlando. Go to House of Sparky to discuss ASU basketball.
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The Sun Devils had a chance to win the fifth place game against the Blue Demons but ultimately fell short 68-64 thanks to some important missed free throws and another excess of turnovers. Keala King continued his hot streak for ASU, totaling 22 points, five rebounds and four assists to go along with Trent Lockett's 19 points and 12 rebounds. Reigning Big East Freshman of the Year Cleveland Melvin lead the way for DePaul with 18 points and seven rebounds.
After trailing by as many as 10 in the second half, Arizona State pulled within two with only a few seconds remaining. That's when center Jordan Bachynski was sent to the line with chance to tie it after being fouled while wrangling in a offensive board. The 7'2" sophomore, who was 6-14 at the charity strike entering the game, missed his first before a bad lane violation nullified a chance at a put back on his second miss.
Truly though, the game was lost long before that series of events. The Devils once against shot themselves in the feet with 19 more turnovers, the fifth time Arizona State has had 15 or more turnovers in their six games (have had 19 or more turnovers in four games). ASU did manage to dominate the boards, out rebounding the Blue Demons 40-26 with Kyle Cain's 15 rebounds pacing the way. But ultimately, DePaul's excellent ball handling (16 assists to only seven turnovers) was too much for the Sun Devils to overcome with their own sloppiness.
With the loss, Arizona State drops to 2-4 on the season, finishing the Old Spice Classic with a record of 1-2. The Devils did show small signs of improvement though and will look to keep that going next Saturday when they visit Tulsa (4-3).
The Arizona State Sun Devils did not get off to a good start in 2011, but they absolutely demolished the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Friday night by the score of 84-56. This was huge for the program, especially after losing three straight to Pepperdine, New Mexico and Fairfield.
Trent Locket had a huge game with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Keala King shot 80% from the field on his way to a team-high 25 points and eight boards. Chris Colvin and Kyle Cain added 10 points of their own in the winning effort.
Wake Forest shot 2-for-16 from behind the arc and had no answer for the Sun Devils on the defensive end of the court. C.J. Harris, who ended with 17 points, was the only Deacon to finish in double figures. The team had just six assists while committing 10 turnovers.
ASU will have a full week off to recover before playing Tulsa on December 3.
The Arizona St. Sun Devils are going to have all sorts of problems adjusting this season to a limited roster and will probably struggle with a lot of basic issues as they try to stay outside the cellar of the Pac-12 basketball standings. ALl their deficiencies were on display in a first round loss against the Fairfield Stags, and now they'll have to try and recover and win their last two
ASU will face the Wake Forest Demon Deacons next. Wake Forest had problems of their own in a loss to the Dayton Flyers, playing a close contested matchup that ended with Dayton making a crucial three in the final seconds. Wake Forest is not expected to be very good this year and are fairly average offensively and defensively, so the Devils have a good chance of picking up a victory in Orlando.
