With only two games left in their Sun Devil careers, the three ASU seniors- Ty Abbott, Rihards Kuksiks, and Jamelle McMillan- came up big on Thursday night against Oregon. Abbott and Kuksiks had 22 apiece while McMillan pumped in 11 points in addition to 6 assists. The three combined to make all 16 of ASU's three-pointers as ASU rolled Oregon 73-53.
ASU started off well as Abbott hit three early three-pointers to set the tone. From there, Kuksiks and Abbott led the first half charge as they stroked three after three. ASU led 38-26 at halftime.
Things got considerably closer in the second half as the Ducks cut the Sun Devil lead to six points with 8:52 left in the game, placing ASU in a scenario that it had seen too many times this season.
As Abbott said after the game, "It's kind of been our story the whole year. We...get out, play well in the beginning. Then, you know, we had that time in the middle that we had today. Usually we don't come back from those lulls...but it felt good to finally weather the storm a little bit and pull one out."
Weather the storm they did. Abbott, Kuksiks, and McMillan knocked in eight more three-pointers in the second half to key a 16-3 run that effectively put the game away. The script couldn't have been written any better for the three seniors, who were the three highest Sun Devil scorers on the night.
Asked about his seniors, head coach Herb Sendek had this to say, "I was really proud of our three seniors. I thought each of them really contributed a great deal and played an outstanding game for us... To see them have a night like tonight, on their last home weekend... really makes us all feel good."
The Sun Devils will play their final game of the regular season on Saturday against the Oregon State Beavers. It will definitely be an unforgettable night for the seniors, who plan to enjoy the moment and play with intensity. As Abbott put it, "If it's gonna be your last one, you might as well win it."