The best way to attack a zone defense is to just shoot over the top of it.
It’s easy to just shoot 3-pointers, but on Thursday night, ASU made them.
Behind a season high 16 made triples, ASU completed the season sweep of Oregon with a 73-53 victory at Wells Fargo Arena.
Two of ASU’s three Pac-10 victories have come against UO and the Sun Devils have now knocked off the Ducks six straight times.
“We knew how to attack it,” senior guard Ty Abbott said of UO’s zone. “We knew what they were going to do when we sent guys through on the baseline and ways to reverse the ball. We were well prepared coming into it and it showed.”
Abbott and fellow senior Rihards Kuksiks led the barrage from beyond the arc, both finishing with 22 points.
Kuksiks made seven 3-pointers, while Abbott had six.
“It feels good for a couple of shooters,” Abbott said. “When you get open looks, that’s all you need.”
It was a breath of fresh air for the Sun Devils (11-18, 3-14 Pac-10) to have both of their senior shooters on at the same time.
When asked when the last time that happened was, Kuksiks replied, “a long time.”
The Sun Devils’ ball movement was sensational.
ASU had assists on its first 15 made field goals and finished with a season high 22 assists on 25 made baskets.
“They play a zone, you have to share the ball,” Kuksiks said. “Just move the ball and whoever gets the open look, you have to finish it.”
The Ducks (14-15, 7-10) cut ASU’s 12-point halftime lead to just six with 8:59 to play, but the Sun Devils closed on a 22-8 run.
While Abbott and Kuksiks had big scoring nights, the other senior had a big impact on the game too.
Jamelle McMillan finished with 11 points and six assists, but was outstanding on the defensive end of the floor.
“Our guys gave good defensive effort,” ASU coach Herb Sendek said. “I thought Jamelle’s defensive effort really set the tone on that end of the floor. He hit three, three’s and they were timely, when the game was hanging in the balance.”
ASU held UO’s leading scorer, forward Joevan Catron, to just five points, his second lowest total of the season.
With how exposed ASU’s post defense was earlier in the season, holding Catron to just one-of-eight shooting was an accomplishment Sendek will celebrate.
“We showed Catron a lot of looks,” Abbott said. “We had two or three guys surrounding him, even if Kyle [Cain] was on him. We really wanted to let him know it wasn’t one-on-one down low, there was a lot of attention on him.”
Cain finished with eight points and eight rebounds and was key in slowing Catron.
“He really battled in the post,” Sendek said. “Rebounding has been a challenge for our team, so when a guy gets eight rebounds for us we celebrate it. We thought about giving him the game ball.”
The Ducks shot a season low 29.6 percent from the field and were held to a Pac-10 low 53 points.
“I’ve always mentioned that our margin for error is really small,” UO coach Dana Altman said. “When we don’t make plays on a consistent basis, we get exposed really quick.”
With just one remaining game at home, Abbott wants to carry over the momentum generated from this win to senior day on Saturday.
“We wanted to get these last two wins, it is big for us,” Abbott said. “Just to kind of end it on a somewhat positive not, especially at home. You don’t ever want to go out losing your last games. We just want to win.”
Carson’s big night
Sendek not only got a win on the court on Thursday night, but his top recruit had a big night as well.
Mesa High School senior guard Jahii Carson scored 58 of his team’s 82 points in a 5A-I state semifinal game.
Carson’s Jackrabbits fell to Brophy 96-82.
“That’s an amazing number,” Sendek said. “When you score 58 points, that’s staggering.”
Sendek’s college coach was in attendance on Thursday, so he cracked a joke about his playing days.
“I don’t think I had 58 points in my career for him.”
Reach the reporter at andrew.gruman@asu.edu
