Arizona State came back to beat Georgia State, 75-62, in an epic Monday night matchup

TEMPE, Ariz. – The Arizona State Sun Devils faced the Georgia State Panthers at home in this thrilling matchup. With multiple lead changes and constant back-and-forth of ball control, ASU found itself taking home the win, 75-62.

The Sun Devils’ record advances to 3-1, while GSU fell to 1-4 so far this season.

“I thought our pressure was key to the second half,” coach Bobby Hurley said. “We didn’t put our heads down, we dug into the game and made necessary plays.”

Noah Meeusen made his season debut

The Sun Devils were able to add a face back to their lineup that they have been missing since the beginning of the season. Sophomore guard Noah Meeusen from Zandvliet, Belgium. This is Meeusen’s first season with ASU, as he looks to become a valuable player for the team.

In his first game against the Panthers, he was able to record two points, going 2-3 on free throws in the first half. However, his defense in the second half made the biggest impact.

“What Noah and Pig did in that stretch during the second turned the game around defensively,” Hurley said. “So I’m happy for those guys.”

Areas for ASU to improve

In ASU’s last game against Gonzaga, it lost 72-65. During the heated game, ASU missed 10 free-throw attempts. This left Hurley and the team frustrated and wanting to change that going forward.

The battle between ASU and Georgia State was the perfect way to get back on track; the Sun Devils went 13-18 on free throws, which is 72.2 percent from the line. This shows huge improvement for the Sun Devils, but there’s still room for more. 

While ASU did improve on free throws, it has more areas to improve in. At the end of the first half, the Sun Devils found themselves going 2-14 on 3-point attempts, which is equivalent to 14.3 percent.

At the end of the game, ASU finished the game shooting 4-19 on 3-point attempts, which is equivalent to 21 percent.

It’s still early in the Sun Devils’ season, but Hurley is going to need to make some improvements so ASU can utilize its 3-point shooting throughout the year.

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