After yet another slow start on the road, Arizona State (10-7, 1-5) could not overcome a large halftime deficit against Cincinnati (12-5, 2-4), dropping its fourth straight in Big 12 play 67-60.
ASU’s scoring struggles away from home persisted throughout the first half in the Queen City. The Bearcats held the Sun Devils to just 20 points on just 24.1% shooting through the first 20 minutes of play.
At one point, the Devils went over six minutes without a single point, which allowed the Bearcats to manufacture a 16-0 scoring run.
“We knew it’d be kind of a low-scoring game,” head coach Bobby Hurley told reporters after the loss. “We really respect how hard Cincinnati plays… but I didn’t see us having 20 points at halftime. I thought we were ok on offense, we had some pretty good looks, it’s just no one could make a shot whether it was from the perimeter or in the paint. To score 20 points is not good enough on the road.”
Senior guard BJ Freeman kept the Sun Devils afloat, as he accounted for seven points in the first half and finished with 12 on the night despite battling a knee injury in the second half.
Meanwhile, Cincinnati took advantage of Sparky’s shooting woes by pushing the pace and getting in transition off misses.
The Bearcats thrived on the break, outscoring ASU 25-2 in fast break points. The repeated turnovers and quick scores led to a few giant Cincinnati runs, including a 12-2 run that it took into the half to give it a 36-22 lead.
However, Hurley’s squad began to show a pulse in the second half.
Early in the half, the Sun Devils ripped off a 15-2 run of their own, aided by efficient three-point shooting and an improved defensive effort, which helped cut the Bearcat lead to just four points.
Freshman forward Jayden Quaintance led the comeback charge by piecing together one of the most impressive halves in his young collegiate career. He scored 14 of his team-high 15 points in the second half while posting 15 rebounds and five blocks in his fifth double-double.
“We couldn’t really get anything going in the first half, so we needed somebody to try to be a little more aggressive and get something started,” Quaintance said. “I tried to go in with more of that [aggressive] mindset in the second half.”
Eventually, the Sun Devils’ short rotation and sloppy play caught up with them, as their late efforts could not dig them out of the hole they had dug earlier on the road against the Bearcats.
With the defeat, Arizona State falls to 14th place in the Big 12 after losing its last four conference games. Amid a downward spiral, Hurley reiterated the need for his team to maintain strong mental fortitude in the stormy seas of Big 12 play.
“As a player and a coach, I’ve been in these situations feeling like the world is coming to an end and [asking] ‘are you ever going to win a game again?’” Hurley said. “You have to try to avoid that mindset and try to get prepared for the next game.”
The Sun Devils now turn their sights to Tuesday, when they will face West Virginia on the road at 7 p.m. MST.
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