Arizona State falls to Richmond in close NIT battle: By the Numbers
Mar 23, 2015, 2:27 AM | Updated: 2:28 am
A 76-70 overtime loss to Richmond in the second round of the NIT Tournament hurt the Sun Devils, but signature slammer Shaq McKissic’s final points for Arizona State felt fitting, at least.
He juked his way from the arc to the bucket and catapulted over two Richmond defenders for a one-handed monster jam with about 30 seconds left in overtime to pull his team within one point:
Huge dunk by Shaq McKissic https://t.co/gXuJFNQfiq
— SunDevilSource.com (@SunDevilSource) March 23, 2015
But moments later, Gerry Blakes missed a jumper and Richmond hit their final free-throws to seal it.
It wasn’t the first crucial missed opportunity by Blakes, who had mostly been clutch with a team-high 19 points — he missed another jumper that ultimately sent the Sun Devils to overtime in the first place.
McKissic added 18 points and 11 boards while Savon Goodman had a huge 14-point, 17-rebound performance as the Sun Devils fought back from an early 10-point deficit.
Richmond opened the game on a 14-4 run, but Goodman gave the offense some life with his 10 first-half points.
Freshman guard Tra Holder added three consecutive buckets before the half ended to pull his team back within one, 32-31.
Blakes would hit back-to-back threes in overtime, but a four-point play by Richmond’s Kendall Anthony and four made free throws from Terry Allen kept Richmond ahead for good.
What did the final game of the season look like for the Sun Devils, by the numbers?
13-9
Arizona State is now 13-9 under head coach Herb Sendek in overtime.
5
Goodman’s impressive 14 points and 17 rebounds mark his fifth double-double of the season and a career-high in rebounds.
His eight offensive boards were crucial in handing his team second chances — ASU had a total of 15 offensive rebounds throughout.
46-30
The Sun Devils were able to get back into the game with help from a 16-rebound advantage over Richmond, 46-30.
Notably, ASU grabbed 15 offensive rebounds to their opponents’ two.
However, those boards led to just 13 points.
63.2
Sub-par free throw shooting hurt Arizona State. They hit just 63.2 percent of their attempts, including two misses from Goodman with a one-point lead and under two minutes to play in regulation.
7
The Spiders’ Anthony’s huge overtime performance helped win it for Richmond. He had seven of his 21 total points in extra minutes.
18-16
Arizona State finishes its season with an 18-16 record. The team will say goodbye to seniors Jonathan Gilling, Bo Barnes and Shaq McKissic.
