Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.

ASU men's basketball salts the Banana Slugs in preseason scrimmage

The Sun Devils struggled early, but pulled away in their final tune-up

ASU freshman guard Sam Cunliffe (3) looks to drive in a 98-53 exhibition victory over the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs in Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Arizona, on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016.
ASU freshman guard Sam Cunliffe (3) looks to drive in a 98-53 exhibition victory over the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs in Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Arizona, on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2016.

With its season opener just a week away, the ASU men's basketball team was able to give the couple hundred fans at Wells Fargo Arena a sneak preview of what may be to come this season.

Just looking at the box score of the Sun Devils' 98-53 win over Division III UC Santa Cruz, it appears ASU was in control from start to finish. But, unfortunately for head coach Bobby Hurley and co., this win was not without worry.

The Sun Devils went through the motions early against a motivated Banana Slug squad, falling behind by eight points just over three minutes into the game and hanging within a possession for nearly 12 minutes, much to the chagrin of ASU's demonstrative head man.

"I wasn't particularly enthusiastic about the first eight minutes of the game and how we came out," Hurley said. "Most times we play that way for that stretch of time, it's not going to be a great result."

Defensively, ASU rallied together to keep UC Santa Cruz from extending its lead any more, while scoring sporadically to extend its lead en route to a 23-2 run that took a whopping eight minutes to complete. The Sun Devils headed into the half up 46-23.

Despite the comfortable lead, Hurley was not impressed with the Sun Devils' offensive attack, while clarifying that they have a lot more up their sleeves for the real games.

"I don't think we played a great half on offense or what we're capable of on offense," Hurley said.

Senior guard Torian Graham, who started just 1-of-9 from the field, sparked the Sun Devils in that run, scoring nine of his 23 points in the final 62 seconds of the half.

"I started off slow and I was like, 'I don't know what's going on,'" Graham said. "The coaches told me, 'just slow down, it's just been a while.' I was rushing a little bit, but after a while I just got in a flow."

That was the case for most of the Sun Devil roster, one that shot a combined three percent better from the floor in the second half and scored six more points in the second than the first.

In total, four Sun Devils — senior forward Obinna Oleka, freshman guard Sam Cunliffe, junior guard Tra Holder and Graham — scored in double digits and carried the offensive load for the home squad.

While not overly impressed by ASU's performance, Hurley acknowledged the scrimmage is an important step for his inexperienced roster, especially with the season opener against Portland State looming on Nov. 11.

"I think it's a good starting point for guys that haven't played in a while or are incoming freshmen," Hurley said. "This is a good dress rehearsal before we start for real next week."


Reach the reporter at mtonis@asu.edu or follow @Tonis_The_Tiger on Twitter.

Like State Press Sports on Facebook and follow @statepresssport on Twitter.


Continue supporting student journalism and donate to The State Press today.

Subscribe to Pressing Matters



×

Notice

This website uses cookies to make your experience better and easier. By using this website you consent to our use of cookies. For more information, please see our Cookie Policy.