Arizona State didn’t win the afternoon in Albuquerque by leaning on its size. It won because the Sun Devils kept finding the bottom of the net from deep.
In a game full of runs, ASU and New Mexico traded punches before the Sun Devils came away with a 91-86 exhibition victory. The contest swung sharply at different points, but Arizona State’s shooting edge proved to be the separator.
The biggest stretch came when ASU strung together a 16-0 run in the first half, then opened things up enough to build a 23-point lead early in the second. New Mexico wasn’t done, though. The Lobos answered with 17 straight late in the game to make things uncomfortable before ASU steadied itself and closed it out.
The Sun Devils were especially dangerous from the perimeter, hitting 43.5% of their threes in the second half. Former Saint Mary’s players Paulius Murauskas and Dillan Shaw were the big engines behind that surge, with both knocking down more than five triples. Murauskas led the way with seven makes from beyond the arc.
“We just play offensively. We're going to play the guys we think can score, (they) take most of our shots, and that's the way it should be," ASU head basketball coach Randy Bennett said postgame.
Murauskas and Shaw combined for 53 of Arizona State’s 91 points. Murauskas finished with 31 points, nine rebounds and went 7-for-10 from three while also going 8-for-8 at the line. Shaw added 22 points and seven rebounds, and helped settle ASU down when New Mexico made its late push.
“You have to figure out ways how to score. New Mexico, they gives a lot of threes up...”
Murauskas said. "They did a really good job in the post....
Their weaknesses, they give a lot of threes ups, so I needed to figure out how I can score, and today, it was this way."
For New Mexico, the opening half from deep was a killer. The Lobos shot just 18.2% from three in the first half before bouncing back to hit 50% from long range in the second. That early cold spell left too much ground to make up.
Jake Hall, the Mountain West all-conference guard, had a rough start of his own. He opened 0-for-6 from three and 1-for-10 overall before finding his rhythm in the second half and finishing with 19 points to lead the Lobo comeback.
Bennett wasn’t pleased with what he saw inside. Arizona State entered the game with a size edge, but the frontcourt group of C Ben Defty, Filip Malesevic and Nate Garcia combined for just six points and five rebounds in more than 30 total minutes.
"We got outplayed at the five, so I don't think the size helped us, and it needs to help us, or we need to go a different route." Bennett said.
That showed up on the glass, too. Arizona State lost the rebounding battle 36-35, a concern for a team that expects to make rebounding a strength.
"We were minus one on the boards, and we want to be a real good rebounding team..." Murauskas said. "We need to do a better job there."
Emmanuel Innocenti also gave ASU a useful all-around effort, finishing with 13 points, six rebounds and four assists while taking the primary defensive assignment on Hall.
Arizona State now turns to its Nov. 2 opener against East Tennessee State.
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