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ASU women's and men's basketball impress fans at MoonLIT Madness

Despite little moonlight, both teams shone under the lights of the Sun Angel Stadium ahead of season openers next month

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Junior Guard Tyi Skinner (3) throws a three pointer at the MoonLIT Madness game at Sun Angel Stadium on Friday, Oct. 21, 2022, in Tempe.

The Sun Devil women's and men's basketball teams kicked off their seasons Friday night at MoonLIT Madness, held to showcase the talent on both rosters. The event, played outdoors on a court placed on the southwest side of the Sun Angel Stadium, was the season debut of both teams as they prepare to begin more serious play in November.

After introducing rosters and coaching staff of both teams, head coaches Natasha Adair and Bobby Hurley spoke briefly, imploring fans to enjoy their night and remain present throughout the season.

The crowd, made up of diehard Sun Devil basketball fans and hockey fans coming from the Sun Devils' 5-3 win against Colorado College at Mullett Arena next door, populated nearly half of the bleacher space.

The Madness began with a game requiring three teams made up of two players from each roster to make a layup, free throw, three-pointer and a shot from half-court. While each team finished in under 40 seconds, the winning team finished in 31 seconds, completed by sophomore forward Meg Newman, senior guard Isadora Sousa, freshman forward Duke Brennan and sophomore guard Jordan Williams.

Next was the three-point shooting contest, where three teams made up of one player from each roster had 90 seconds to make as many three-pointers as possible. After a sudden death overtime round, junior guard Tyi Skinner and sophomore guard Bobby Hurley took the win.

The evening's main event was the dunk contest, where Brennan, senior guard Devan Cambridge and sophomore guard Frankie Collins, new faces for the Sun Devils, each took turns performing dunks judged by the women's team. After a competitive first round featuring two windmill dunks and a 360, Collins and Cambridge advanced to the final round.

READ MORE: Five new faces to know for the upcoming ASU men's basketball season

Cambridge electrified the crowd and earned a perfect score from the judges by dunking over his brother, fifth-year guard Desmond Cambridge Jr., who was sitting on a bicycle (which senior forward Alonzo Gaffney was later seen riding as he left the event). Collins tried to top it with a dunk that involved jumping over sophomore forward Jamiya Neal and redshirt senior guard Luther Muhammad, but after a series of failed attempts, Devan Cambridge was declared the contest's winner. 

The crowd demanded one final dunk from Devan, who, after a few tries, managed to complete the evening's most impressive slam — jumping over both his older brother, Desmond, and his younger brother, Jasiah. This brought the crowd to its feet and sent the players rushing to Devan to celebrate. 

Sophomore center Enoch Boakye is just happy the team was allowed to hold a dunk contest.

"I was looking at (coach) Bobby because I thought he would stop it because you know, injuries and all," Boakye said. "But obviously Bobby has a lot of faith in us all."

Although Neal said the team was facing the preseason "injury bug," he is confident in its ability to withstand it.

"Honestly I think this year we've got a lot of depth so I don't think it will be impacting us that much," Neal said. "Practice has still been at a high level. But at the same time, you know, we're not the only team dealing with injuries. Every team around the country probably has one or two guys banged up. We're just trying to get healthy before the first game."

Senior forward Warren Washington, who transferred to ASU from Nevada this summer and is expected to compete for a starting role, did not participate in either practice open to the media. 

ASU men's basketball will begin its regular season at home on Nov. 7 against Tarleton State at 5 p.m. will be a busy night at Desert Financial, as the game will be followed by women's basketball's home opener against NAU at 8 p.m. 

Edited by Kathryn Field, Piper Hansen and Greta Forslund.


Reach the reporter at awakefi3@asu.edu and follow him @_alexwakefield on Twitter. 

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