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BATTLE at the BANK: The Story of Arizona State’s Explosive Victory over Oregon
20
Jan
By Peter Bouloukos, DieHardDevil.com
      
January 20, 2019 2:53 PM
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Arizona State ran away from the Oregon Ducks with a 19 – 0 second half run filled with hustle, heart, and highlights. Monet, Renoir, and Degas captured the momentary, sensory effect of a scene- Enter Zylan Cheatham the “impressionist” posterizing Ducks’ 6’9” 220-pound shot blocker Kenny Wooten. Sometimes art can leave one speechless in the moment…

“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.” – Leonardo da Vinci. 


Oregon guard, Payton Pritchard is as good as they come in the NCAA. Despite an ankle-breaker of a cross-over at one point leaving Luguentz Dort on the ground, the Devils limited the scorer to “just” twenty points. The Sun Devil defense took Pritchard completely out of the game at one point. Pritchard worked for every bucket playing 34 minutes, but he simply could not do so on both sides of the floor. Dort and Martin made the University of Oregon star work for every inch gained.  The Sun Devil defense can be one of the most tenacious in all of college basketball.  We see glimpses of excellence every single game, but on this night Arizona State men’s basketball arrived with a complete game on offense. 

Sophomore G Remy Martin

Remy Martin and Luguentz Dort both were more collected than ever before. Coach Hurley and his staff worked some 48-hour magic after barely getting by Oregon State and quite honestly trouncing the Oregon Ducks. 

Early on it was back and forth, but on this night, Sun Devil guard Rob Edwards hits a beautiful three-pointer to set the tone. I have to admit, I was nervous about this game, but Edward’s smooth release seemed to signal everything would be alright. 

But this battle was not going to be easy. Lawrence bricks a long three, Romello fights for a possession winning a jump ball on the rebound, each team turns the ball over, and Taeshon Cherry gently drops in a 25’ three-pointer to finish the chaotic stretch. On this night, at the 11:49 mark of the first half, Arizona State is shooting 4 – 8 from three with great ball movement. 

Remy for a moment reverts back to forcing play, leaves his feet, tosses it underhand to White who then gets into a jump ball. This changes the possession back to the Ducks. Martin then goes “Magic Johnson” attempting a no-look one hand pass. Simply stated, you can not throw a ball through two human bodies. But Remy calmed back down, and his effort had a huge impact. He will be a nightmare for Pac-12 opponents as he continues to develop. 

 

 

Oregon’s Kenny Wooten

The “Big Fundamental” Romello White gets robbed on a defensive block attempt on Ducks guard Payton Pritchard who was a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line. This just after Romello owned the paint for an impressive right-hand baby hook for 2. Coach Bobby Hurley seems just a little bothered by the call but manages to keep his cool. With 3 fouls, White’s playing time was limited to 19 minutes. Later, Luguentz Dort forces three defenders to collapse on him, then under control kicks it out to Taeshon Cherry for a 24’ three-pointer. This, my friends, was beautiful basketball. 

6’9” Ukrainian Forward Vitaliy Shibel enters the game for one minute and draws an offensive charge on the Oregon Ducks! It’s my humble observation this kid needs to get three to five minutes a game to spell other Sun Devil bigs.

At half the game is tied 39 – 39. 

Entering the second half Cheatham begins to step it up going after loose balls and making great decisions. Remy Martin nails a three-pointer from Rural & University benefitting from Zylan’s effort! But Pritchard matches with a 25’ shot of his own and the score is 44 – 42 in favor of the Oregon Ducks. 

Then Zylan “Monet” Cheatham posterizes Kenny Wooten. 

Within a few short minutes, the Sun Devils take charge. Oregon Forwards Louis King and Kenny Wooten seem to disappear for the next ten minutes of play. Cherry nails one of his five threes, Romello fights for rebounds, Dort hustles on defense, and now Kimani Lawrence hits a beautiful three-pointer. Although Arizona State was now up only two points at 56-54, quite honestly the game was over! 

Remy in transition passes to Dort who attacks the rim, absorbs an obvious but uncalled foul, then under control makes the layup. This type of body and ball control is fantastic to see from Dort! ASU is up by 6. Remy hits two free throws then, off a Cheatham pass, attacks the rim, and the only defense was goaltending by a visibly tired Oregon team. ASU 65 DUCKS 54. 

During the 19 – 0 run both Dort and Cheatham earn monster slams, and quite honestly the penetration of Arizona State Sun Devil guards won the game with 17 assists on the night. The Sun Devils exhausted the Ducks. 

Arizona State 78 University of Oregon 64. Final.

 

Celebration. Photo- Sun Devil Athletics

 

Battle Notes

The 19 – 0 run occurred in just four minutes.  The total run was 22-2 after Dort made a long three-pointer. The freshman was 2 – 6 from three. 

The Sun Devils were 11 – 28 from three and shot 51 percent total from the field. 

The Sun Devils and the Oregon Ducks had 15 turnovers a piece. 

De’Quon Lake only played six minutes, and he didn’t look healthy. But with this, ASU ran Oregon into the ground using essentially only seven players. That is an impressive effort! 

Arizona State needed to beat both Oregon State and Oregon to climb above .500 in the league. The Sun Devils have the athleticism and talent to compete with any team in the country if they can limit turnovers and control the boards.  Making the occasional free throw will help too! 

Oregon had 18 offensive rebounds, this is a recipe for disaster on any other night!  The Ducks out-rebounded the Sun Devils 38 – 31. 

Taeshon Cherry was looking for his shot on every touch finishing 5 – 10 from three. All of his field goal attempts were from outside the arc. It’s my observation Arizona State needs a consistent outside threat who does not have to handle the ball. Fire away Taeshon and don’t think twice! 

Five Arizona State players scored in double figures, led by 17 from Cheatham and 15 from Taeshon Cherry.  

Arizona State University Men’s Basketball plays the UCLA Bruins in Westwood, California this Thursday, January 24. The Devils are 13-5 and need to win the next three games in a row to make a powerful statement and push towards March Madness.

#STAYTRUEAppaelCo

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