Junior forward Sai Tummala (right) shoots a three pointer over Utah freshman guard Isaiah Wright, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015, at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. Tummala made the three, but the Sun Devils fell to the Utes 76-59. (Daniel Kwon/The State Press)ASU’s (8-9, 0-4 Pac-12) loss to No. 8 Utah (14-2, 4-0 Pac-12) was to be expected, considering they were facing a top-10 team. The fashion in which they played was not something to be expected however.
Senior forward Jonathan Gilling managed to obtain his fifth personal foul early in the second half, fouling out after only scoring three points in the game on 1-of-3 shooting.
Gilling wasn’t the only Sun Devil to foul out, with fellow sophomore forward Savon Goodman fouling out late in the second half. He had a considerably better performance, scoring nine points on 4-of-6 shooting and grabbing 10 rebounds. Junior forward Eric Jacobsen also found himself in foul trouble, which led to extended playing time for Goodman.
"Unfortunately we had to go to that, but whatever my coach needs me to do to try to win games I’m going to do,” Goodman said.
“We are not going to be in the position that we want (if we get into foul trouble),” coach Herb Sendek said. “We had too many unnecessary fouls.”
Junior guard Gerry Blakes was the only ASU player who managed to score in double digits, finishing with 10 points in the game.
It was not a good night from downtown either for the Sun Devils, who were 37.5 percent on 3-pointers on 9-of-24 shooting. ASU managed to shoot slightly better from the field, making 39.3 percent of shots on 22 for 56 from the field.
“I thought once we started cold, it really bothered us,” Sendek said. “It affected us.”
“(Utah is) a good team, despite us missing a couple open shots,” Goodman said.
The team as a whole was not playing as a cohesive unit, and it showed. ASU only managed to get 13 assists, with Blakes and freshman guard Kodi Justice contributing almost half of that statistic with three assists apiece.
“I think it was more of us not playing as a collective group,” said Goodman.
Turnovers were also a sore point this game, with the Sun Devils turning the ball over 13 times. This only resulted in two fast break points for Utah, but these wasted possessions could have made a big difference in the game.
“We had a number of defensive breakdowns,” said Sendek. “Preparation was meticulous, the guys were on top of it."
The Sun Devils suffered a tough loss against a top-10 team, but are looking to learn and grow from the experience.
“Who doesn’t want to win?” said Goodman. “Everybody in our locker room wants to win. We have to look forward."
“My job is to lead and to teach,” said Sendek, “Right now, in many ways, it’s more challenging to do that than when things are going your way. It doesn’t serve any higher purpose to dwell on our record. We keep learning, keep working, and ultimately, we’ll get better.”
ASU hosts Colorado (9-7, 2-2 Pac-12) at Well's Fargo Arena on Jan. 17, with the opening tip-off at 2:30 p.m.
Reach the reporter at mtsteine@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @MarcTSteiner
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