Sophomore guard Jahii Carson dribbles the ball up the court between defenders against Miami (Ohio). The Sun Devils won 90-54 at home. (Photo by Vince Dwyyer)On the opening possession of the ASU men’s basketball team’s game against Miami (Ohio) Tuesday night, redshirt sophomore point guard Jahii Carson nailed a deep 3-pointer at the top of the key.
Then ASU fired more 3-pointers that made their way into the bucket and redshirt junior wing Bo Barnes hit one last 3-pointer with 38 seconds left in the game to become the eight Sun Devil to hit a three-pointer on the night.
It ended up being that kind of a night for ASU (2-0).
The Sun Devils were 16-of-31 from three-point range en route to a 90-54 blowout over Miami (Ohio). It was the fourth-most 3-point field goals made in a game in ASU history. The Sun Devils’ 26 assists were also the second-most under coach Herb Sendek.
The RedHawks (0-2) showed a 2-3 zone early in the game, but the Sun Devils made them pay by moving the ball along the perimeter and hitting open 3-pointers.
“Playing the zone, that’s what they want you to do (shoot threes),” senior guard Jermaine Marshall said. “Once we got into rhythm, it was looking good for us. It was great to be able to shoot the ball that well.”
Marshall was the biggest beneficiary from the RedHawk’s zone defense and shot 4-for-8 from beyond the three-point line. He finished the game with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting with three rebounds.
After Carson’s opening 3-pointer, it didn’t look like the Sun Devils were going to have a hot shooting start at first. ASU missed its next six 3-pointers before Marshall finally hit one at the 14-minute mark that tied the game at nine.
The Sun Devils and the RedHawks traded baskets at the top of the first half until ASU erupted in a 25-5 run to close the half.
Miami (Ohio) tried to make an early comeback in the second half by going on a 9-3 run, but that’s all the RedHawks had, despite an 18-point second half from sophomore point guard Reggie Johnson. There weren’t many times when Miami (Ohio) scored on two or more possessions in a row, and it didn’t help that the Sun Devils stayed hot from the 3-point line.
An undersized RedHawks team didn’t have much of an answer for 7-foot-3 ASU senior center Jordan Bachynski, either.
Bachynski had a double-double with 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting, 10 rebounds and four blocks. His offensive production was a direct result of his teammates spreading out the zone defense.
“That was part of our game plan, to attack the zone high-low,” Bachynski said. “Jermaine did a great job of that early on. Just get in the high post and make a bounce pass, and I got a lot of wide-open dunks. The zone opens up the post.”
Carson finished the game with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting, eight assists and four rebounds. Redshirt freshman guard Calaen Robinson also contributed 11 points and four assists in 12 minutes off the bench.
ASU outrebounded Miami (Ohio) 48-27 and had 11 offensive rebounds compared to the RedHawks’ four. It was a positive showing for an undersized ASU team besides Bachynski, but it still wasn’t enough to impress Sendek.
“I still don’t think rebounding is a strength of our team,” he said. “I think it’s something we’re going to have to constantly preach, work on and committed on accomplishing.”
The win didn’t appear to be perfect for ASU in other ways, either. The Sun Devils shot a dismal 4-of-13 from the free throw line and gave up 13 turnovers.
“(Free throw shooting) is all on us,” Bachynski said. “Coaches are doing everything they can to let us get shots in practice. We’re getting it on our own, it’s just getting used to shooting free throws in games when you’re fatigued. That’s on us.”
The win over Miami (Ohio) gave Sendek more positives about his team after an encouraging season opener, but he still would like to see his team grow. The Sun Devils have another non-conference game at home against Idaho State on Friday before traveling to UNLV on Nov. 19.
“I thought it was a good game for us,” Sendek said. “I think the first two games, our team has done what it needed to do and play good team basketball. I thought we still can get a lot better in many areas and need to.”
Reach the reporter at jnacion@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @Josh_Nacion
