In a dominant, complete display on both ends of the floor, Arizona State (10-15, 6-9 Pac-12) completed the home series sweep against the Oregon schools, knocking off Oregon State (3-22, 1-14 Pac-12) 73-53 at Desert Financial Arena on Saturday night.
The Sun Devils came out of the gate flying, jumping out to an early eight-point lead via the hot hands of graduate transfer point guard Marreon Jackson and sophomore guard Jay Heath. With an ever-increasing lead, junior transfer forward Alonzo Gaffney received a pass in the right corner, and instead of opting to shoot a three, he drove inside along the baseline and prepared to rise. The forward leaped into the air over Oregon State’s seven-foot-one senior center Roman Silva and slammed it home with authority. The Sun Devils would go on to stretch their lead to double digits over the next three minutes.
“I think it shows how unselfish we are as a team,” Jackson said. “We don’t really care who scores, who’s the hero in the game at that moment, who’s got it going, the main thing is winning at this point in the season.”
No player was more efficient on offense through the first 20 minutes than fifth-year senior forward Kimani Lawrence, who scored 11 points on a 5-5 effort from the field, logging seven rebounds, two assists, and a steal. While his running mate, junior forward Jalen Graham, didn’t play much in the first half due to foul trouble, the pairing still managed to occupy space and wreak havoc down low.
“The impact Kimani and Jalen have catching the ball at the elbows to the mid-post is giving us the opportunity to score easier in the paint,” Hurley said. “(Opponents) have to account for them, and I think we had a 28-10 points in the paint advantage at halftime. Jalen and Kimani are making pretty good decisions.”
For every bit as potent, the Sun Devils were on offense; they managed to multiply it on the defensive end of the floor. Arizona State forced 12 OSU turnovers in the first 20 minutes, a significant portion of them being traveling violations. For those 12 turnovers, Arizona State managed to cash in 15 points. The Sun Devils had eight steals and three blocks during the first half to boot.
“I thought the defense was very active, and I thought that activity was excellent,” Hurley said. “We had a lot of deflections, and we were up 11 to two on fast break points in the first half, which was largely due to the deflections and anticipation and being in the right position.”
Oregon State’s status certainly didn’t help on Saturday night as well. OSU head coach Wayne Tinkle’s squad was shorthanded to just seven players due to injury, as well as playing three games in five days. The Beavers played against Colorado at home on Tuesday, losing 90-64, then dropped another game to No. 3 Arizona 83-69 on Thursday in Tucson. With limited options for Tinkle, Hurley opted to lock up his best player, junior guard Jarod Lucas, who finished the night with four points on a 2-11 shooting performance from the field.
“(I was pleased) with the way we locked up Lucas – we know how lethal he can be from three-point range,” Hurley noted. “I thought the guys did a good job of chasing him around and having an awareness for him and making things difficult.”
“I feel for Wayne to have to go into a game knowing (he’s shorthanded) and having played three games in five days is a lot for them. We wanted to try and pressure them a little more and be able to force them to get back on defense.”
Following a 16-point performance against Oregon on Thursday night, Jackson came back with the same intensity on Saturday against the Beavers, finishing with 15 pts, four rebounds, and four assists. Sophomore guard DJ Horne followed up his 16-point game against the Ducks with 10 points, three rebounds, and six assists against Oregon State.
“Marreon Jackson has really stepped up the last couple of weeks,” Hurley said. “DJ was great in the second half of the last game, and Jay (Heath) was good tonight. This is what happens when you get more guys that are in a good flow and are playing well. I think we had five guys in double figures tonight, which you always like to see.”
Over the last three games, all of which were wins, Arizona State has held opponents to 31%, 35%, and 38% from the field, forcing at least 12 turnovers in all three as well. While the offense may be improving and a work in progress, it’s the defense that’s helped Arizona State click and translate their successes into scoring.
“I wish we could say we found that secret magic dust or whatever (on offense),” Hurley said. “But since Washington State, the guys realized that it starts with defense and how we guard. We guarded against WSU, we guarded against Oregon, and we weren’t the best on defense inside as the game got late… but otherwise, I thought we were outstanding.”
“They secure that end of the court, and it’s translated into better movement, sharing the ball and more trust on offense.”
Arizona State’s win over Oregon State marks the 13th straight home win over the Beavers and the largest margin of victory in that win streak since a 69-38 win in 2009. This also marks the first time ASU has swept any pair of regional schools in the Pac-12 this season, as well as the team’s first back-to-back set of wins by 20-plus points.
“It’s a good feeling (to win by that margin) because just about every game outside of (the Oregon schools) has been where we have to coach every possession,” Hurley concluded. “It’s always a good feeling when you can be proud of yourselves and put forth a dominant performance.”
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