Sun Devil Basketball defeated the Sam Houston Bearkats effortlessly with a final score of 78-61 at home.
After defeating Vanderbilt in Las Vegas, fans were ready to watch the Sun Devils continue to build against the Bearkats.
As the Devils woke up from an early slow start, the Bearkats could not seem to maneuver around their strong defense.
A key player to the defense so far in the season has been junior guard Frankie Collins. His anticipation and quickness have taken the defense to a new level at times. He secured three steals against the Bearkats and tallied seven assists and 12 points.
“It was good to see the guys play with that type of energy on defense,” ASU head coach Bobby Hurley said.
ASU moved the ball well, as the Devils had 19 assists and 10 turnovers. Collins was a major part of that facilitation.
Another standout player was graduate student guard Jose Perez, who led the team with 24 points. His calm presence amidst the frantic style in which both teams played was essential in the victory.
He also assisted graduate student forward Alonzo Gaffney with two highlight slam dunks. Perez worked as a perfect change-of-pace guard next to Collins and junior guard Jamiya Neal.
“That’s just my natural game, it’s just a unique game,” said Perez. “I don’t know where I got it from, it may be a New York playstyle,” he said.
Perez has slowly acclimated to the offense of the team and stepped up to try to fill the missing pieces from last season.
The West Virginia transfer was credited by his coach for helping fill the void of missing sophomore center Shawn Phillips Jr.
“[Phillips] was a guy that I thought based on summer that would be able to throw inside and play through in and inside out, and Jose has taken more of that role to do that,” said Hurley.
Perez credited his teammates, particularly Collins and Neal, for his success in the paint.
“I feel like my guards trust me enough to make the right plays,” said Perez.
In the second half of the game, Jamiya Neal came out of the gates aggressively and provided a nice spark with a quick layup.
He led the team alongside Perez with eight defensive rebounds.
Neal’s aggressive dunk in the last eight minutes motivated Gaffney to slam one consecutively after him, thus ending whatever hope the Bearkats may have had.
As a team, the Devils only hit four 3-pointers, and still kept a lead of ten or more the entire game.
“We’re really good shooters, everyone can shoot. it is a confidence thing,” said Neal.
The second half also saw impressive efforts from freshman guard Braelon Green and junior forward Bryant Selebangue on both sides of the floor to keep the score gap wide.
The Sun Devils had a successful night, and they plan to continue to improve and figure out more pieces of the team, especially as coach Hurley has added eleven new players to the roster this season.
“Get 1% better every day, that’s all we can do,” Neal said. “We don’t have to look our best right now.”
It is still early in the season and the Devils have more work to do before they can play at their desired potential.
The win moved the Sun Devils to 4-2 ahead of a rematch from last year against a San Francisco team that dominated ASU in the Bay Area. That game is scheduled to tip at 1 P.M. MST on Sunday.
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