After opening their first eight games within the friendly confines of Reed Arena and the neutral tournament in the Bahamas, the Aggies first true road game was a rude awakening.
Poor shooting, foul trouble and defensive lapses doomed No. 18 A&M in their 67-54 loss at Arizona State on Saturday night. Outside of a late-game comeback attempt where the Aggies pulled to within eight, the Aggies were essentially dominated for the entire game.
A&M (7-2) looked discombobulated in the first half, forcing up unnecessary shots and overall looked completely lost on the offensive and defensive end of the floor. They shot 22 percent in the first half, and an abysmal 18 percent from three-point land.
Meanwhile, ASU (6-2) was the polar opposite, as Kodi Justice hit one three of his four three point attempts in the half to help the Sun Devils garner a 33-19 halftime lead. The Aggies led 6-5 early, but from that point on, ASU outscored A&M 28 to 13. Justice finished the night with 10 points, but Willie Atwood led ASU with 15. Savon Goodman also posted a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. As a team, the Sun Devils shot 37 percent from downtown in the opening period.
Danuel House led A&M with 15 points and eight rebounds, but was 6-for-21 from the floor. Alex Caruso pitched in 13 points in the effort with four assists, but like the rest of the Aggie team, he ran into foul trouble which reduced his time on the floor.
A&M had 14 turnovers while ASU had 13, but it was the points off of those turnovers that hurt A&M. The Aggies managed just eight points off turnovers while ASU put up 21. Free throw shooting was the other glaring issue with the Aggies, as they shot an unpleasant 47 percent from the charity stripe.
The Aggies showed some grit in the second half, and they cut the Sun Devil lead to single digits at one point. They shot 38 percent in the second half, but could not hit the big shots when they needed them. The Aggies finished the final 2:42 of the game without a field goal, which has not been uncommon with this team late in the game, and made one of their final seven shot attempts.
A&M has a bit of a break as finals approach, but they will return to Reed Arena next Saturday afternoon where they will host Kansas State at 4:30 pm.