D.J. Horne, Devan Cambridge propel Arizona State men past NAU

The Arizona State men's basketball team picked up a win in their season opener earlier this week but the performance didn't exactly leave coach Bobby Hurley or his team in a celebratory mood.

But the Sun Devils looked much better in their second outing, cruising past visiting Northern Arizona 84-68 in nonconference play Thursday night at Desert Financial Arena. The contest really wasn't that close as ASU led by as many as 35 points in the second half.

ASU (2-0) led 22-13 with 7:16 left in the half but outscored the visitors, 13-4, highlighted by two 3-pointers from Devan Cambridge and one from D.J. Horne and took a 35-17 lead into the locker room at halftime.

There were a couple of dust ups in the game. The first game with ASU comfortably up 59-26 when Cambridge and ASU's Carson Towt got tied up on a loose ball at the NAU end. Neither wanted to let go of the ball and they went several steps and both tumbled on to the floor. ASU freshman Duke Brennan went over to help and was ejected for leaving the bench, along with associate head coach Jermaine Kimbrough.

Moments later ASU's Enoch Boakye got into an altercation under the basket against Towt and was assessed both a personal foul and a technical.

Shooting and ball movement were two areas in which ASU struggled in the opener and showed improvement in their second outing. ASU shot 54% (26-48) which included a 9-for-17 from long distance. They totaled 18 assists, 10 more than they managed in the opener.

ASU outrebounded NAU 40-23, finishing with a 30-22 advantage on points in the paint and a 22-8 cushion in fast-break points.

NAU shot 42% (24-for-57) which included a 7-for-28 from long distance. The Lumberjacks hit just 1 of 13 tries from deep in the opening half however.

Desmond Cambridge and Jamiya Neal did not play due to injuries. Neal didn't play in the opener either. Cambridge did play in the opener but Hurley said his player had a flare up of a tendinitis issue in a knee and did not practice all week.

Standout performers

Horne led all players with 25 points, a career-high in his two years at ASU. He was 7-for-11 from the field and also contributed six rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Also in double figures were Devan Cambridge with 16, followed by Marcus Bagley and Warren Washington with 12 each. Cambridge also had six rebounds. Frankie Collins, who had 21 in the season opener, had just five but dished out eight assists and had two steals.

NAU (0-2) was led by junior guard Jalen Cone with 17 points and six rebounds, Sophomore guard Liam Lloyd, son of Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd, had 11 points and two assists.

Top plays

— With 6:38 left in the first half Cambridge scored on an alley oop off a nifty outlet pass from Collins who started the fast break by pulling down a rebound at the defensive end with that bucket putting ASU up 24-13.

- With 15:47 left in the game, Marcus Bagley scored on a backdoor layup that came off a bounce pass by Collins. That score put the Sun Devils up 59-26.

They said it

"I was really pleased with a lot that I saw tonight. I'll attribute some of the maybe dysfunction, or poor play (late in the game) to being in a lopsided situation and not knowing how to handle it. I wish I could tell you that last year and the year before that we were in a lot of these lopsided games. We just frankly weren't good enough the last two years to be up over 30 points. So we have to relearn what that feels like and how to continue to be productive, continue to defend and get stops and not get distracted and looking at the scoreboard because it's a different group. Last year's team we were in a lot of close games, they showed a lot of heart, a lot of fight. Two years ago was dysfunction at its finest and it was just, we had the program on the verge of going somewhere important and no one in that year or last year really did anything to continue to advance the program. Now we're in the situation we are where we have to learn to sustain a lead and we have to win with people that are committed and want to help this team win."

- Coach Bobby Hurley on losing some of the lead late in the game

"I felt like we had it going offensively better, defensively helped it out to. I just felt like there was more flow in the game too. I felt like our first game there were a lot of foul calls so we couldn't really get into a flow and today it was more up and down."

- D.J. Horne on better offensive performance than in the first game

Up Next

The Sun Devils will square off against Texas Southern (0-2) at p.m. Sunday in Houston, Texas. Texas Southern was a 78-54 loser Thursday night against Texas Tech.

The game is part of the newly dubbed "Legacy Series" which features schools from the Pac-12 and from the SWAC. It is a first of its kind event pitting Autonomy 5 and HBCU leagues, with emphasis on raising awareness for anti-racism and social justice initiatives.

Reach the reporter at Michelle.Gardner@gannett.com or 602 444-4783. Follow her on Twitter @MGardnerSports.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: D.J. Horne, Devan Cambridge propel Arizona State men past NAU