Arizona State’s (2-0) depth continued to shine early in the season, as the Sun Devils secured another home victory on Sunday, beating Utah Tech (2-2) 81-66 at Desert Financial Arena, in large part due to the performance of its bench.
For the second straight game, ASU tallied 25 points or more from players coming off the bench. The team also kept its opponents under 15 bench points in back-to-back games. The Trailblazers’ bench scored eight points, all of which came in the second half.
Last Tuesday, ASU coach Bobby Hurley’s bench combined for 35 points in Sparky’s 81-64 win over Southern Utah. Five days later, the trend persisted as the Maroon and Gold racked up 25 points from the bench in the win over Utah Tech.
“It’s nice when you can bring guys on the floor, into the game, and you get a little bit better,” Hurley said.
Graduate forward Allen Mukeba led the non-starters with 10 points and shot 5-for-7 from the field. Hurley praised the veteran who secured double-digit points for the second straight game coming off the bench.
“Allen coming in has been really productive with his minutes,” Hurley said. “He’s been on a minute’s restriction. I think now, with a few more practices, his minutes potentially could go up at this point. But he’s been really good.”
Sophomore forward Marcus Adams Jr. also chipped in with eight points of his own after going scoreless in his last outing.
Meanwhile, after leading the team on Tuesday with 17 points, senior guard Anthony “Pig” Johnson continued to provide impact scoring off the bench. The senior logged seven points and four assists in just under 25 minutes played on the court.
“Pig has really bought into that,” Hurley said on Johnson coming off the bench. “Because he’s really a starter, I think he’s earned the right to start. It’s just I think it works better for how our rotations are set up for him to, at this time, come off the bench. He’s handled it great.”
Hurley hopes his bench will continue to have an as the season begins to take shape. He’ll need it to carry over its success into next week, as the Maroon and Gold return to Desert Financial Arena next Friday at 9 p.m. MST to take on the No. 21 Gonzaga Bulldogs.
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