Men's basketball wins 77-62, picks up 10th victory
The Arizona State men's basketball team went on the road to Lubbock, Texas on Dec. 22, and picked up their tenth victory of the season Saturday afternoon, beating the Red Raiders of Texas Tech 77-62 to improve to 10-2.
ASU jumped out to a quick start, thanks in part to Jonathan Gilling and Evan Gordon. Gilling drained his first three shot attempts, all from behind the perimeter, to give him an early nine points. Gordon had nine points of his own, also all on three three-pointers, as he started the game shooting 3-4.
Gilling tied his season-high for three pointers made in his first three shots attempts, and finished the first half with 15 points on 5-9 shooting, all three-pointers. His five three-pointers in the first half tied for the most he has ever made in a single game.
With 12:47 to play in the first half ASU already held a 27-12 lead, with 21 of those points coming from behind the arc. They started the game shooting 7-9 from three.
Texas Tech battled back, however, and cut the lead to 42-36 at halftime. The Devils entered today's game averaging 37.2 points in the first half.
The second half failed to get off to a good start for the Sun Devils, as their starting center, Jordan Bachynski, went back to the locker room with an ankle injury and did not return. The Devils were not phased without their go-to big guy, though, and sustained their lead throughout the second half.
Jahii Carson and Gilling led the team with 18 points, while Carrick Felix and Gordon finished with 13 and 12, respectively. Felix remained one of the team's top scorers despite going to the bench early in the second half with four fouls.
The key stretch for ASU was delivered by Jahii Carson. Texas Tech had cut the lead to seven, 61-54, with 6:58 left. Carson, who had two points in the first half, outscored Texas Tech 12-4 over the next 5:50.
Arizona State finished the game shooting 48.3 percent on 28-58 shooting, while Texas Tech finished at 43.9 percent on 25-57 shooting. ASU shot 14-27 (51.9 percent) on three-pointers.
The Sun Devils return home again for a three-game stand, and will next be in action on Saturday, Dec. 29, for a noon (MT) tilt against Coppin State.