PALM DESERT, Calif. — The 2024 Acrisure Classic came to an end tonight, with the Gaels (7-1) narrowly defeated by the Arizona State Sun Devils (7-1), 68-64. This back-and-forth heavyweight title fight featured eight ties and nine lead changes, but Arizona State was able to take the lead with three minutes left for the final time, eventually earning the hard fought four point victory.
The Gaels picked up where they left off yesterday against the Trojans, playing stout defense and opportunistic offense, building a 31-22 lead over the first 17 minutes of the half. From that point, however, it was all Sun Devils, as for the final 2:50 of the half, ASU outscored the Gaels 10-3, with the Gaels coughing up the ball four times in that final stretch. Arizona State is typically known as a solid three point shooting team, compared to the Gaels physically imposing interior scoring style, but the script was flipped in the first half, with the Gaels shooting 5-7 from three, and the Sun Devils outscoring the Gaels by four in the points. The hottest three point shooter for the Gaels in the first half was a surprise candidate, Jordan Ross. Ross entered the game shooting 1-14 from three on the season, but connected on all four of his perimeter jumpers in the first frame, as he scored 14 points to go along with a team-best three assists and no turnovers. Luke Barrett didn't score in the half but was as ferocious as ever on the glass, ripping down a team-high seven boards, helping the Gaels to being +8 on the glass in the first half.
With momentum firmly on their side in the second half, Arizona State took their first lead of the second half at 38-37 with 15:41 to go, and extended that out to six at 46-40, making it a 24-9 run over a 9:45 stretch. The Gaels would fight tooth and nail to claw back into it, Knotting things up at 52 apiece and even three times regaining the lead, but with the score tied at 60-60 with 3:30 left, the Sun Devils would hit a three, that proved to be the straw that broke camel's (Gaels) back, as ASU would hold off the Gaels for a four point victory, 68-64. Augustas Marciulionis did his best to try and carry the Gaels to the finish line with nine points, while Mitchell Saxen went for four and five boards in the second frame. The three point well went dry for the Gaels in half two, shooting just 3-10 in the second half from beyond the arc, while ASU continued to dominate in the paint, outscoring the Gaels 20-8 on the interior in the second stanza.
Jordan Ross surpassed his career-high from a night ago with 19 points, burying a career best four triples. Coming into this one, Ross had hit just three three pointers in his SMC career. Ross also had a career-high seven rebounds, and dished out four assists to just one turnover. Augustas Marciulionis added 13 points, while Mitchell Saxen went for 10 points, nine rebounds and a pair of steals. Tying with Saxen for the team lead in rebounds were Paulius Murauskas, who also led with two blocks, and Luke Barrett who played the full 40 minutes for the first time in his career. As a team, Saint Mary's blocked seven shots, their most since January 13 of last season against Santa Clara.
HE'S SCORER, HE'S A REBOUNDER, HE'S PLAYMAKER
Jordan Ross proved tonight that he can do it all. The sophomore set his career-high in scoring last night against USC with 15 points, then followed that up with 19 tonight against the Sun Devils. Ross also reeled in a career-high seven boards this evening, and recorded four assists, making it his fourth consecutive game with at least four dimes. Tonight, we witnessed a new addition to Ross's game, the perimeter jump shot, as he hit four threes, after coming into this game with three made in his career.
A FIRST FOR BARRETT
Luke Barret led the Gaels and ranked second in the conference in minutes played per game. That number will go up after tonight, as he played the full 40 minutes for the first time in his career. At the start of the season, many questioned if Barrett could prolong is high energy style of basketball over a full 40 minutes game, and he has proven all season that the answer to that is a resounding yes.
QUOTABLE
"Credit to Arizona State, they played well, and made some big plays down the stretch. We played well for stretches, but not for the full 40 minutes, and in games like this, you need to perform for the entire 40 minutes to pick up a victory." --Associate Head Coach
Mickey McConnell on his team's performance tonight
UP NEXT
The Gaels will return home to take on UTSA on Tuesday, December 3 at 7 PM.
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