(Photo courtesy: ASU Athletics)
It was a slow start to what would be a blowout in the last home game of the season for the Sun Devils in Tempe on Saturday as they took down the Cal Bears (18-11, 9-7) 78-60 to firm up Arizona State’s (21-8, 10-6) NCAA tournament chances.
“We have a very diverse and special group of men. But on senior night to play the way we did and get a nice tribute to those guys was extra special,” head coach Herb Sendek said.
The Sun Devils and Bears went back and fourth for much of the first half, trading off the ball with four turnovers, two by each team, within the first two minutes.
ASU continually utilized the entirety of the game clock to try and get a good shot off, but for frequent spurts, the ball just refused to fall for the Sun Devils.
Senior guards Jermaine Marshall and Bo Barnes got ample minutes in the first half. Marshall helped the Sun Devils out of the frequent plateaus with clutch threes that got the team going again.
“I feel like it’s my job to make plays. It was fun. A long journey. I had valley fever and I was struggling, trying to get my rhythm back, but as far as now, I’m just trying to have as much confidence as I can, “ Marshall said.
Barnes played extremely physical throughout the game, bringing ASU out of their rut with a clutch three at 7:37 in the first half to shift the momentum in ASU’s favor.
Senior center Jordan Bachynski was relatively quiet in the first half as his two early fouls caused him to sit for a good portion of the first half.
In the last seven minutes of the first half, the Sun Devils went on an 11-2 run and headed into the halftime locker room up 29-24.
The Sun Devils found their stride during the second half of play, sinking shots and going on a 8-0 run to make the score 42-30 with 15:16 left in regulation.
“We moved the ball more [than in the first half], we weren’t as stagnant. We were cutting harder, playing harder, that let us get off more shots,” Carson said.
In honor of senior day at Wells Fargo Arena, Shaquielle McKissic was able to please the crowd with a slam dunk on an assist from Bo Barnes with about 13 minutes left in the game to keep the Sun Devils scoring rally alive.
Two minutes later, he did it again with a reverse dunk that drew a foul to make it a three-point play with 10:50 left and increasing the Sun Devil lead to 14 points.
The Sun Devil seniors drove the game home. Marshall finished with 22 points, making ASU’s last basket in Wells Fargo Arena for the season, a three with 1:02 left in the game to make the score 78-59.
More than the win, it was the moment Bachynski fouled out of his last game ever at Wells Fargo Arena that put a stamp on the night. With emotion showing in his face, he gave a nod and a wave to the crowd and showed his Sun Devil pride with one last pitchfork to his home crowd.
“It was a lot of fun here but the journey’s not over. It just kind of all hit me and when I got that last stupid foul,” Bachynski said. “It’s been a really long road but it’s been fun, and I just love our home crowd but I’m gonna miss it.”
The Sun Devils head on the Oregon road trip this week and will play the Oregon Ducks on Mar. 4 at 9 p.m. MT.
You can reach this reporter via email kvicario@asu.edu or on Twitter @KristinaV_18
