From the opening tip, Saint Mary’s dominated this game and Arizona State and their poor shooting lasted all game. They could not stop Jordan Ford who scored 16 points in less than 16 minutes and finished with 34 points. Although Saint Mary’s is a potential tournament team this was a terrible loss for the Sun Devils because they got blown out by 40 points. This game was over ten minutes into the game when St Mary’s was up 28-7.
Saint Mary’s Dominates Arizona State
Game Recap
On a day that only featured a few must-watch games it turned out to be a rout by Saint Mary’s as they controlled the game from start to finish. Their largest lead was 42 points. Nobody besides Alonzo Verge Jr. decided to show up for Arizona State as he exploded for 43 points but the rest of the team scored just 13 points. It was a wasted effort because none of his teammates could help him out. It should be noted that Verge comes off of the bench. Taeshon Cherry had 8 points and Romello White had five points.
St Mary’s guard Jordan Ford, the West Coast Conference-leading scorer, came in averaging 20.4 points per game ended the game scoring 34 points on 12-17 shooting including making 7 of 11 from three and it would have been more if the game was competitive. He outscored the Sun Devils in the first half 22-19 by himself. Malik Fitts finished with 20 points, making 5-9 from the field and 5-9 from three. Fitts and Ford both shot over 50 percent from three. Tanner Krebs added 11 points and 4 rebounds. This was a statement win for St Mary’s. Now they have three wins over power five schools as they also defeated Wisconsin 65-63 and then 15th ranked Utah State 81-73.
The Difference
Saint Mary’s came into this game ranked first nationally in three-point field goal percentage at 46 percent and shot a remarkable 16 of 26 from three. While Arizona State shot an abysmal 3 of 22. Additionally, Saint Mary’s shot 59.6 percent from the field while Arizona State shot 35.9 percent from the field. St Mary’s got scoring from all of their starters and only one player, Dan Sheets, failed to score but he only played one minute. Arizona State had only three players score and the vast majority came from Verge.
Looking Ahead
Arizona State hosts Creighton Saturday. Creighton is coming off a win over Oklahoma, 83-73. The Sun Devils need to show up and show a better effort in this upcoming game. Arizona State needs to improve on both sides of the floor before conference play. This upcoming game is an opportunity to showcase some improved play. Meanwhile, St Mary’s plays Nevada on Saturday.
Main Photo
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