Arizona State provided the excitement at the rim today, with six massive dunks sending Desert Financial Arena into a frenzy en route to a 63-52 win over Texas Southern. It was the 8th straight home opener won under Head Caoch Bobby Hurley
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!No Place Like Home 😈@SunDevilHoops has now won 8️⃣ straight home openers under Bobby Hurley 👏 pic.twitter.com/LC0t9v8RbA
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) November 11, 2023
Frankie Collins led the Sun Devils today with 13 points and eight rebounds including two massive threes late in the game. Kamari Lands finished with 12 points, while Jamiya Neal had 10.
The Sun Devils has 16 turnovers in the first half alone, while converting 17 fast break points.
First Half
It took Arizona State three minutes to score, but when it started, it started quickly. Memphis Transfer Jahmar Young Jr. scored the game’s first two points, but Arizona State would go on a 16-6 run to take an eight-point lead. Alonzo Gaffney got the baskets started with a jumper. Then Neal dunked DFA into a frenzy.
Gaffney came back and hit a huge three; the only for ASU in the first half. This gave ASU their first lead. Frankie Collins would then make a jumper, and Jose Perez would get an and-1 before Bryant Selebangue would score a basket to give the Sun Devils a double-digit lead.
After taking that 18-8 lead, Arizona State scored six points in the next 7 minutes of basketball. These included Jamiya Neal’s second dunk and a dunk by Akil Watson. However, they have relied on Texas Southern’s lack of offense to maintain the lead. It worked. The Tigers were only able to score 10 points at the same time. Making the score 25-16.
Arizona State would finish the half with two free throws by Jose Perez and the biggest of the three dunks by Neal with a foul. Jaylen Wysinger would make a layup for Texas Southern to end the half and drop ASU’s lead to single digits. 28-20.
This was the Jamiya Neal dunk contest half. Neal had three massive dunks in the first half. Neal finished with a team-high eight points. Lands had 5, and Gaffney had 4. Arizona State only made 1 three but shot 36% from the field. Texas Southern went 0-11 from deep and only shot 29%. They were led by Young Jr., who had 6 points.
Second Half
Arizona State saw their lead drop to four early in this half when PJ Henry and Jonathan Cisse made back-to-back threes, the first of the game for Texas Southern. However, Arizona State jumped right back with a three-pointer from Kamari Lands, and three free throws made it a 10-point game with 15 minutes left.
Texas Southern would score 10 points in the next three minutes to drop the lead to two. Kamari Lands got another massive dunk to double the lead. The three-point barrage started when it looked like Texas Southern would stay in this game. Zane Meeks came into the game and drained two straight threes before Frankie Collins would do the same thing. This Ballooned the Sun Devils’ lead to 11.
The Tigers brought this game as close as 7, but two straight Shawn Phillips dunks provided the dagger for Arizona State.
Frankie Collins finished with 10 points in the second half, while Gaffney and Phillips Jr. each had 7.
Arizona State moves to 1-1, while Texas Southern drops to 0-2.
ASU”s next game will be Thursday at Desert Financial Arena vs UMass-Lowell
Jamiya Neal’s Dunk Contest Leads ASU to a 28-20 First Half lead over Texas Southern
