Newcomer Anthony Johnson led Arizona State with 17 points and the Sun Devils’ depth fueled an 81-64 win over Southern Utah on Tuesday in Tempe, Ariz.
Johnson, a transfer from the NAIA school University of the Cumberlands (Ky.), led Arizona State with 17 points on 6-of-9 accuracy from the field. He also finished with four rebounds and three assists.
Seven Sun Devils finished the game with at least seven points, and four players finished with double-digit scoring totals. The Arizona State bench accounted for 35 points.
Massamba Diop hit 6 of 8 field-goal attempts and registered 14 points, while Allen Mukeba and Bryce Ford recorded 11 apiece. Mukeba rejected four Southern Utah shots, while Ford knocked down 3 of 5 from behind the arc.
The Sun Devils are coming off a 13-20 season in which they lost 11 of their last 12 games.
Elijah Duval led the Thunderbirds with 17 points off 8-of-14 shooting. The only other Southern Utah player in double digits was Isaiah Cottrell, who finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.
The Thunderbirds misfired on 21 of 25 attempts from 3-point range.
The game got off to a hot start offensively for the Sun Devils, who took a 20-10 lead with 11:03 left in the first half following a layup by Johnson.
Southern Utah cut the deficit down to 34-28 off a jumper from Jalen Lee with 1:41 left in the first half.
From that point, however, the Sun Devils controlled the rest of the game with their offense. Arizona State ended the game shooting 49.2% from the field and 39.1% from the 3-point arc.
–Field Level Media
