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ASU men's basketball stumbles late in 76-71 loss to Alabama

Junior forward Eric Jacobsen (left) and junior guard Gerry Blakes attempt to block a Chicago State shot, Friday. Nov. 14, 2014 at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. The Sun Devils defeated the Cougars 81-67. (Photo by Ben Moffat)
Junior forward Eric Jacobsen (left) and junior guard Gerry Blakes attempt to block a Chicago State shot, Friday. Nov. 14, 2014 at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. The Sun Devils defeated the Cougars 81-67. (Photo by Ben Moffat)

Junior forward Eric Jacobsen (left) and junior guard Gerry Blakes attempt to block a Chicago State shot, Friday. Nov. 14, 2014 at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. The Sun Devils defeated the Cougars 81-67. (Photo by Ben Moffat) Junior forward Eric Jacobsen (left) and junior guard Gerry Blakes attempt to block a Chicago State shot, Friday. Nov. 14, 2014 at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. The Sun Devils defeated the Cougars 81-67. (Photo by Ben Moffat)

In a battle of two teams reeling from their first losses of the season of the CBE Classic, Alabama topped ASU men's basketball 76-71 in Kanas City.

Junior guard Gerry Blakes led the way again for ASU in a losing effort finishing with 21 points, nine rebounds and two assists

Blakes started alongside freshman Kodi Justice  —the first of his collegiate career  — and junior forward Willie Atwood, as coach Herb Sendek went with one of several small lineup that the Sun Devils have utilized this early into the season.

In a tight, back-and-forth contest, neither team was able to separate itself much on the scoreboard, trading buckets for the majority of the first half.

Until Tuesday night, ASU hadn't yet had the challenge of containing a scorer with a complete offensive arsenal at his disposal.

But Alabama senior guard Levi Randolph proved to be the enigma the Sun Devils (3-2) couldn't seem to solve. Randolph was the spark plug for the Crimson Tide (4-1) offense, creating open looks from behind the arc and fearlessly driving to the rim. He finished with 28 points on 8-13 shooting, making all 10 of his free throw attempts, and grabbing six rebounds.

Coming out of a TV timeout with just under four minutes to go in the first half, ASU benefited from an impressive sequence which enabled it to go went into the half leading 30-27, courtesy of a mini-run bookended by three-pointers from senior guard Bo Barnes — one that broke a 20-20 tie, and one that put the Sun Devils ahead of the Crimson Tide going into the Sprint Center locker room.

There were plenty of bright spots for ASU on offense, but just as many performances were cause for major concern.

Sophomore guard Chance Murray and Atwood both were held scoreless, and played a combined 19 minutes, Atwood finished 0-3 from the field, and junior guard Roosevelt Scott managed just five points in 10 minutes on 2-4 shooting.

Senior forward Shaquille McKissic finished with just three points, and missed a pair of free throws with an opportunity extend ASU's lead to four points. On the ensuing possession, Randolph buried a three from the left elbow to give Alabama a 58-57 lead with 4:26 to go in the game.

Seniors Jonathan Gilling and Bo Barnes were proficient outside shooters in a solid overall night for the Sun Devil offense. Gilling had 10 points and hit two of three behind the arc, while Barnes had 11 points and cashed in on three of his eight attempts from downtown.

ASU also did little in the way of preventing Alabama junior guard Ricky Tarrant from getting to the free throw line. Tarrant was the second leading scorer for the Crimson Tide, posting 21 points, hitting four of seven attempts from behind the arc, and hit seven shots from the charity stripe.

His three, following by a baseline jumper from Randolph were the daggers which put the game out of reach for the Sun Devils, and Tarrant hit four consecutive free throws to seal the game in Alabama's favor.

 

Game Notes:

-Kodi Justice had his legs examined on the bench during the second half, but returned to action, playing 34 minutes and finishing with eight points.

-Barnes hit a long buzzer-beating  three that went in off the glass as time expired.

ASU will return home to face Colgate at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 29, at Wells Fargo Arena.

 

Reach the assistant sports editor at smodrich@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @StefanJModrich

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