White’s quality effort wasted as ASU stumbles
The Arizona State men’s basketball team found itself in a tough position - trying to regroup after a 40point loss earlier in the week.
This one was a lot closer but it still got chalked up in the wrong column as the Sun Devils fell to visiting Creighton 67-60 Saturday night at Desert Financial Arena.
“We didn’t play good offense again and it has become a common theme,” ASU coach Bobby Hurley said. “I really can’t complain about the defense. We held them to 67 points and when you do that you should win.”
The Sun Devils (8-4) were coming off a 96-56 loss to St. Mary’s on Wednesday in a game in which they faltered in all areas of the game. Hurley said his team responded well in practice this week, only to come up empty again.
“They were receptive to taking ownership, he said. “They practiced well, especially yesterday. There is always some lingering effects when you get beat that badly. But I thought the kids had the right intentions and the right mindset.”
ASU led by as many as eight points while Creighton had a lead as large as seven, but it was the Blue Jays (10-2) in front much of the second half. The visitors led 61-58 with ASU getting within one point at
61-60 on a driving layup by Rob Edwards off a nifty pass from Romello White with 1:11 left.
The next trip down the floor Marcus Zegarowski drained a 3-pointer for a 6460 lead and Creighton hung on from there.
White notched his fifth double-double in the last six games, finishing with 18 points and 12 rebounds but was kept largely in check in the second half. He had the milestone in the first half and managed only six points and two rebounds in the second.
Alonzo Verge netted 19 points but 14 of those came in the first half. All five of his points in the second came at the free-throw line as he went 0-for-8 from the field. He has registered 97 points in the last four games, with 43 of those coming on Wednesday.
There was little contribution from anyone else. Edwards, who went 0-for-7 from the field and was held scoreless on Wednesday, managed just the two points and is now 18 for his last 68 over six games.
Remy Martin managed seven points but was only 3-of-11 from the field.
ASU shot 23-of-65 from the field, going 7-of-26 from long distance. The Sun Devils had 11 turnovers but nine of those were in the first half.
Creighton hit 27-of-61 tries and finished with a 43-37 advantage on the boards. It had three players in double figures with Denzel Mahoney and Mitch Ballock each getting 14.
ASU played without 6-9 freshman forward Jalen Graham, who had concussion symptoms in practice on Friday and did not dress. That left the Sun Devils thin in the paint because 6-9 junior Andre Allen is also out with a hip injury and not expected back for at least another week
Junior Kimani Lawrence, a starter for part of last season, did not play but is not injured.
The Sun Devils are off until after Christmas, the next contest coming against Texas Southern at 1 p.m. next Saturday.