After only scoring two points in the first half, Miller got the last laugh with an impressive eight points during crunch time. Meanwhile, his teammate, graduate forward Graham Ike, scorched ASU, recording an impressive 20-point effort with 12 made free throws.

Arizona State Men’s Basketball hoped to continue its perfect start to the season so far at Desert Financial Arena on Friday at 9 p.m. However, the Sun Devils walked away with a loss on the scoreboard, 77-65, with plenty of positive aspects to take away from the contest. 

“For being such a new group of guys and having to gel together so fast, I would say we have a lot of potential,” junior guard Bryce Ford said about the positives. “I would say we are a tournament team.”

ASU opened up the game filled with energy and passion. Right after the opening tip, the Sun Devils forced a turnover that resulted in a corner three by junior forward Andrija Grbovic, a testament to the team’s five-day preparation. 

After the hot start, which included three long-balls and an 11-6 lead, ASU’s magic diminished. Gonzaga outscored the Sun Devils 39-21 after the opening span and topped off its impressive run with an emphatic dunk by Ike before halftime. 

“We could kind of script those first three possessions of the game,” Head Coach Bobby Hurley said about the fast start. “We got stuck on 20 too long, and I told the guys that. We just had bad possessions.” 

Hurley’s squad ended the late-night battle with 30 three-pointer attempts, reeling in 10 of them, good for  33.3% from beyond the arc. Senior guard Moe Odum continued to be a warrior, accounting for 11 of the three-point attempts and playing a total of 36 minutes and 45 seconds.

Once the Bulldogs settled in, their physicality and hard-nosed basketball started to shine. Gonzaga pushed to the free-throw line 35 times, a number that marks the highest number of attempts for the team this season. 

While coach Mark Few’s team found its rhythm at the charity stripe, disappointing free-throw percentages led to ASU’s demise. The Sun Devils finished the night with a 56.5% free-throw percentage, shooting a mere 13-23.

Last season, ASU shot 72.6 percent from the foul line, good for eighth in the Big 12 conference. This season, that number has submarined into a 66.1 percent clip, putting the squad at a disappointing 15th in the conference. 

“Playing an opponent like this, you can’t miss free throws,” Hurley said. “I know that has haunted us in the past here under my tenure … We certainly had no business doing that today against a team of this caliber."

The Bulldogs also outrebounded the Sun Devils by 14, showcasing their aggressiveness in multiple facets of the game. Moving forward into non-conference play, ASU aims to change that narrative after outrebounding its opponent in only one game this season, against Utah Tech. 

The night became tougher when tempers flared on both the court and the bench for the Sun Devils. 

Both sophomore guard Santiago Trouet and Hurley were assessed a technical foul within a minute of each other.

The spirited ASU crowd, team, and coaching staff were all unhappy with the officiating all night. The negative energy from the officiating did not seem to affect the Sun Devils approach and composure throughout the game.

“Don’t let that sit in the back of our mind, because if that happens, then it’s over,” Ford said about staying composed during the chaos. “Just have a short-term memory.”

The Sun Devils will be continuing their early-season home stand when Georgia State comes out West to Tempe. The game will tip off at 7:00 p.m. MST at Desert Financial Arena.

“We have to play better,” Hurley said. “But, it was remarkable with all that went on that we still were behind by nine and had a chance if we had gotten a stop. These guys, it’s a tribute to their resilience.”