Arizona State notched a decisive 72-61 win over the Dons of San Francisco on Sunday afternoon.
The first 6 minutes of the game were crucial in setting the tone for ASU, as the Sun Devils only missed one shot in their 12-1 run to start the game.
The Dons chose to only take three-point shots to start the game, as they missed all seven early attempts plus one missed layup, which sunk them in the early goings of the game. Meanwhile, four Sun Devils all made their first shots of the game.
Junior guard Jamiya Neal started the game with a three-pointer, and then graduate guard Jose Perez had a mid-range jumper to go up by five early.
After junior guard Frankie Collins’ three-pointer, an 8-0 lead seemed like it would never end. As the Dons struggled on offense, and could not contain the explosive start by ASU offensively.
San Francisco found its footing later in the first half, cutting the Sun Devil lead to eight heading into the break.
ASU junior forward Bryant Selebangue was in the starting lineup with sophomore center Shawn Phillips out for at least a month due to injury.
As a starter, Selebangue held performed admirably. He was one of the four Devils to make his first shot in the early 12-1 run.
Selebangue was also tasked with the matchup against star junior forward Jonathan Mogbo, who finished with 23 points and 16 rebounds.
“He’s very active, very physical, and stays on the glass,” said Selebangue. “He’s a beast, I’ll give that to him and he just capitalized on that position. He’s a good player.”
The Devils played suffocating perimeter defense, which led to many early turnovers for San Francisco.
Collins led the effort and ended with two blocks and three steals in the game. The point guard also tallied 21 points, eight rebounds and three assists on the offensive end. He was 7-of-11 from the field and sunk a pair of 3-pointers.
“I think our identity is just to be dogs,” said Collins. “Play hard all the time. Get stops and defense has to be our go-to.”
Out of the locker rooms, the Dons came the closest they had all game to the Devils’ lead, as junior guard Marcus Williams scored a pair of easy layups early in the second half.
The Sun Devils could not find an answer until Selebangue found a fair response with his own two shots in the paint before a block by Collins on the perimeter. The sequence stretched the lead back to 10.
The rest of the game was a see-saw with both teams going back and forth but the Dons could never cut the lead enough to gain any real momentum.
All five of the Sun Devils’ starters had 12+ points each. The starters carried the load as the bench added no points on the offensive end.
The Sun Devils’ defense effectively forced four total travels called against the Dons. The Dons had 14 turnovers in the game.
The win moved ASU to 5-2 on the season. The Sun Devils will wrap up their three-game homestand with a Wednesday night tilt against Southern Methodist University, which enters the game 6-3.
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