(Photo: Scotty Bara/WCSN)
Arizona State had a chance to turn things around. The Sun Devils came in without a win in Pac-12 play or on the road, and, as they have all year in close game situations, they self-destructed. Shaquielle McKissic had chance to tie the game on two free throws with just under a minute left and on a three pointer at the buzzer and failed to do so, leaving Arizona State with a 59-56 defeat at the hands of the Oregon Ducks.
The Sun Devils took a two-point lead on two free throws by McKissic with just over two minutes to go, and then immediately gave it up on a Jordan Bell put-back. The Sun Devils played nearly flawless defense on the possession, forcing a tough shot at the shot clock buzzer, but Bell was able to shield off McKissic and tip the ball in.
Arizona State failed to get anything going on the other end before turning the ball over on two consecutive possessions. A tip out of bounds following a missed Tra Holder free throw gave the Sun Devils one last chance to tie it up, but McKissic’s deep three fell short.
The story of the first half for the second consecutive game was the complete lack of offensive cohesiveness for Arizona State. No Sun Devil finished with over six points over the first 20 minutes of play and sans a Kodi Justice trey to open up the scoring, ASU failed to hit from behind the arc. In typical fashion the Sun Devils threw in eight turnovers for good measure a category in which they “lead” the Pac-12.
Despite the anemic offense ASU was able to keep themselves in the game on the other end of the floor, attacking the Duck’s guard-heavy attack with fervor. They ensured there would be no second chances, allowing only two offensive rebounds for the half. The Sun Devils held Oregon without a field goal for nine minutes before an 11-3 run gave the Ducks a 25-23 half-time lead.
Stat Of The Game: 8 Blocks
Jordan Bell set an Oregon school record with his eight-block performance. Bell, a true freshman, was a deterrent through out the entire game for an undersized Arizona State team who, to their credit, kept going at him. Midway through the second half, Bell had a sequence in which he came out of nowhere to reject McKissic, who thought he had an open lane, and then followed it up by single-handedly thwarting a 4-on-2 with a particularly vicious swat of a Roosevelt Scott offering.
Player Of The Game: Shaquielle McKissic
After an Oregon State game in which McKissic failed to take charge of the offense and came off as passive the senior had one of his better games of the season. McKissic, who finished with 18 points, aggressively attacked the rim in both transition and the half-court resulting in a season high 14 free throw attempts. He was Arizona State’s sole source of offense for much of the second half as most of his teammates were stifled or utterly indecisive.
Biggest Concern: It’s tempting to go with the turnovers, which, after another 15 tonight, remain a constant thorn in Herb Sendek’s side, but the larger problem lays in the source. Arizona State’s offense consistently devolved into one-on-one hero ball antics, which made them immensely easy for Oregon to defend. Tra Holder in particular over-dribbled and time after time failed to see an open Eric Jacobsen over taller Oregon defenders. The Sun Devils don’t have nearly enough offensive talent to put together an above average offense predicated on iso-ball. When Arizona State did decide to pass it was only because the player in question ran out of real estate and often ended up telegraphing it. Even if it’s as grade schoolish as insisting on five passes before a shot, Sendek has to figure out a way to stop the ball from sticking.
