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).