This season has been filled with ups and downs for the Arizona State Sun Devils. After going 6-5 in non-conference play, they started Pac-12 play 5-2.
Both the ups and downs were present on Thursday night at Matthew Knight Arena against fellow conference leader Oregon Ducks.
The Maroon and Gold started the road matchup on the attack, establishing a 20-10 lead with eight minutes left in the first half after an 11-0 run. While the Ducks regained momentum, the Sun Devils led 33-28 at the half.
But the home side continued to shave the visitors’ advantage before taking a 47-46 lead. A 33-15 run followed, and the Ducks beat the Sun Devils 80-61.
Field-goal percentage haunted Oregon coach Dana Altman’s side early. They went 10/29 from the field in the first half.
But the Ducks went 18/26 from the field in the second half. This helped them score 52 points in the final 20 minutes, tying the season record for most points in a half.
The same was true for Bobby Hurley’s side but in opposite halves. The Sun Devils registered 14 field goals on 31 attempts in the first while shooting 11 for 26 in the second.
Oregon also outshot Arizona State from long range. The home side finished 9 for 23 from behind the arc while the visitors finished 4 for 17.
The Ducks also won the free-throw battle, going 15 for 16 from the line while the Sun Devils went 7 for 11.
Graduate guard Jose Perez replicated his outing from Saturday’s game against USC. He once again scored 20 points, the most from either side and registered four assists. While Perez is known for his post-play, the West Virginia transfer shined in long-range situations on Thursday night. He also shot efficiently, going 8 for 12 from the floor.
However, Perez was the only Sun Devil to reach double digits while the Ducks had three. Senior guard Jermaine Couisnard led his side with 19 points. Specifically, he scored 12 on Oregon’s second-half run, including a double to give the Ducks their largest lead of the night.
Senior center N’Faly Dante followed up a 23-point performance against Utah last weekend with 16 points against Arizona State. While the Sun Devils limited his mobility at times, he still found looks, slamming the ball home a few times to electrify the home crowd of 6,170.
Senior guard Keeshawn Barthelemy scored 12 points off the bench. His top-of-the-key triple to make the score 52-47 kickstarted Oregon’s monstrous second-half run and forced Bobby Hurley to call his third timeout of the game.
Led by Barthelemy, the Ducks scored 33 off the bench while the Sun Devils scored 18. Altman’s side also won the rebound battle 35-27, the assist battle 16-10, and the block battle 4-2.
Despite being second-best on the court, Hurley’s side looked better in key categories. They had seven steals compared to the Ducks’ four. Junior guard Frankie Collins, whose 3.1 steals/game is third-best in the nation, had two for the Sun Devils. While facing a starting lineup with two centers and one forward, the Maroon and Gold outscored Oregon 36-28 in the paint.
Arizona State (11-7, 5-3 in the Pac-12) will look for the split this weekend as they face the Oregon State Beavers (9-9, 1-6 in the Pac-12) in Corvallis on Saturday at 5 p.m. Hurley’s side has won the last four games against the Beavers. Most recently, the Devils beat them 63-57 in the First Round of last season’s Pac-12 tournament.
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