It’s amazing how much can change in one year.
Three hundred fifty-nine days after the ASU men’s basketball team suffered an embarrassing 78-61 loss to DePaul at home, the Sun Devils (8-2) stormed into Chicago on Friday and turned the tables against the Blue Demons (4-4).
ASU redshirt sophomore point guard Jahii Carson returned from his ankle injury and had 23 points, nine rebounds and five assists as the Sun Devils blew out DePaul 78-56.
The Sun Devils had a surprising performance from senior forward Shaquielle McKissic. After not playing in Sunday’s 60-57 loss to Miami (FL) at the Wooden Legacy, McKissic scored 14 points in 30 minutes and also grabbed 12 rebounds.
ASU also had an improved effort from senior guard Jermaine Marshall, who dropped 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting and grabbed five rebounds.
ASU junior forward Jonathan Gilling added 12 points on four 3-pointers and dished out a game-high six assists. Senior center Jordan Bachynski had another quiet game on offense with just three points but still dominated in the paint by getting five rebounds and eight blocks.
Carson came out with seven points in the first eight minutes of the game, which helped the Sun Devils jump out to a 14-5 lead to start the game. DePaul immediately answered with a 9-0 run to completely erase the deficit. The rest of the first half was close, but ASU went into halftime with a 28-25 lead.
The first five minutes of the second half continued to be tightly contested, but the Sun Devils broke out with a 19-5 run to pull away. ASU outscored DePaul 50-31 in the close half.
ASU shot 51 percent from the field and 44 percent from the 3-point line. Despite the blowout, DePaul still outrebounded ASU 42-41 and forced the Sun Devils to turn the ball over 13 times.
The Blue Demons couldn’t get their shot going all night. The Sun Devils held DePaul to just under 30 percent from the field and the Blue Demons shot a horrid 2-for-17 from the perimeter. Just five of DePaul’s 19 field goals were assisted.
While Carson played, the Blue Demons were without their leading scorer in senior guard Brandon Young because of an ankle injury. Freshman guard Billy Garrett, Jr., freshman center Tommy Hamilton IV and sophomore guard Durrell McDonald combined for 37 of DePaul’s 56 points.
Because of finals week, the Sun Devils don’t play again until they host Grambling on Dec. 14.
Reach the reporter at jnacion@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @Josh_Nacion
