Freshman guard Jahii Carson looks to pass through traffic during the second half of Oregon's 68-65 victory over the ASU Sun Devils at Matt Knight Arena on Jan. 13. (Photo Courtesy of Michael Arellano)The ASU men’s basketball team dropped its first conference game Sunday, losing to Oregon 68-65.
The Sun Devils (14-3, 3-1 Pac-12) had a chance to tie right at the end of regulation but did not convert on a desperate 3-point attempt from senior wing Carrick Felix. Sophomore forward Jonathan Gilling corralled the rebound after Oregon senior forward E.J. Singler missed his second free throw with five seconds left. Gilling hesitated before he pushed the ball up court. He passed to Felix, who attempted a well-contested desperation shot at the buzzer that went off the backboard.
The situation to at least tie the game seemed almost impossible with 13 seconds left. The Ducks (14-2, 3-0 Pac-12) led 67-62 after senior forward Carlos Emory made both of his free throws with 13 seconds left. ASU redshirt freshman point guard Jahii Carson made a very difficult 3-point shot to cut the deficit down to two with seven seconds left.
The Ducks were 14-of-14 before Singler missed his second free throw, which gave ASU the slim hope of pushing the game to overtime.
“They (the players) stuck with the course,” assistant coach Dedrique Taylor said about the team’s turnaround during a postgame radio interview. “They’ve given everything that they can to try and turn this thing around, and I think our record reflects it in terms of improvement. Most importantly in terms of their character, their attitude and their chemistry has been excellent.”
ASU shot better than its opponent, 47.3 percent to 40.7 percent, yet somehow picked up a loss. The Sun Devils and Ducks tied in the rebounding category despite the Sun Devils’ sizable margin.
“I thought there were some 50-50 plays we call them, balls that go either way, that we just didn’t come up with,” Taylor said. “They had some offensive rebounds that were very timely for them and very untimely for us down the stretch. I thought they went up and made some plays, and we didn’t. That was the difference in the game.”
Carson had a hand in every single bucket within the last five minutes of the game. Along with the clutch three-pointer, Carson picked up an assist on a 3-pointer by senior wing Carrick Felix to give ASU a 60-59 lead with 2:09 left. Carson also blew right past Oregon in the halfcourt set to cut the deficit down to one with 39 seconds left. He finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Junior guard Evan Gordon scored 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-6 from the perimeter. It was his first game in double-figures since Coppin State on Dec. 29.
“It was good to see Evan come out of his shell and put some points up on the board,” Taylor said. “He did a good job for us defensively guarding those guys. They’re a tough guard with the way that they cut and play. The way that they move the ball, they play at a pace that is unique in our conference and they do a good job at it. I thought our guys did a good job responding and figuring out how to guard them on the defensive end.”
The Ducks had four players in double figures. Emory, freshman guard Damyean Dotson and senior center Tony Woods each had 14 points. Woods added eight boards to his total.
Reach the reporter at mtesfats@asu.edu
