Frankie Collins scores 21 points, leads Arizona State men's basketball over San Francisco

There should not have been any danger of Arizona State overlooking San Francisco. Last season the Sun Devils lost to the Dons by 37 points by giving up a season-worst 97 to the opponent. It was a loss that nearly cost ASU a spot in the postseason.

The Sun Devils (5-2) have had considerable roster turnover but there was no misstep this time. ASU responded by earning a 72-61 nonconference victory Sunday afternoon at Desert Financial Arena. It marks the third straight win for ASU, which boosted its home record to 4-0.

"Really solid performance," coach Bobby Hurley said. "First half, really good defense, great energy on defense, creating turnovers. We knew they were a precision offensive team and if you give them clean looks they can really you from three. Liked our approach to defense, the quality of how we played offense, some of it again was generated by our defense and getting into the open court and making good plays."

ASU, which led from wire to wire, shot 46.6% (27-for-58) and finished with a 40-37 advantage on the boards. The Sun Devils also used the up-tempo game to their advantage with a 22-7 edge in fast-break points.

San Francisco (5-3) shot 36.5% (23-for-63) but was only 5-for-30 (16.7%) from long distance.

ASU played without 7-foot-1 Shawn Phillips and 6-9 Zane Meeks, both out with foot injuries. It was the fourth game missed for Phillips and second for Meeks.

Turning points

ASU led 36-28 at the half but the Dons scored the first four points of the second half on two buckets by guard Marcus Williams to cut the deficit to 36-32. That was the closest the visitors were since the opening minute of the contest.

ASU's Frankie Collins scored on a fast-break layup on the next possession and San Francisco turned the ball over moments later. ASU capitalized on a put back by Bryant Selebangue, who scored again the next trip down the floor to stake the Sun Devils back to a double-digit lead at 42-52.

ASU led by as many as 17 points with that advantage coming at 51-34 on a 3-pointer by Alonzo Gaffney.

Standout performers

The starters accounted for all ASU points and all five finished in double figures. Collins led the way with a season-best 21 points on a 7-for-11 from the field and a 5-for-6 from the free-throw line. He also had eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks.

The supporting cast was also solid with Jamiya Neal posting ASU's first double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds to go with four assists and a steal.

Gaffney, Selebangue and Jose Perez each chipped in with 12 points. It was a season-best for Selebangue, a transfer from Tulsa in his first year with the school whose contribution loomed huge because of the absence of Phillips and Meeks.

San Francisco was led by junior forward Jonathan Mogbo with 23 points and 16 rebounds. He went 9-for-11 from the field and 5-for-7 from the line and grabbed 16 rebounds. Marcus Williams added 15 points.

They said it

"They're a good team. The film says it although saw a lot of BYU (a team he previously played) in watching them with inside and a lot of guys that can shoot. I think some of our success with guarding the 3-point line was our close outs. An example of that would be Frankie Collins closing out late in the game to (Marcus) Williams. He had to put extra arc on the ball because of how high Frankie contested that shot. So we did a good job of trying to speed them up. Maybe it felt like there were six guys out there at times because we were moving well, rotating and pressuring."

— ASU coach Bobby Hurley on his team's defense

"Our identity is just to be dogs, play hard all the time. Get stops. The defense has to be our go-to,"

— ASU point guard Frankie Collins on the team's calling card

"Game by game I'm easing into it. The transition, I feel like it's a little bit faster. You have a guy like Frankie (Collins) that likes to push the tempo and that's something I have to adjust to in the offseason, with my body, make sure I can run up and down the court with these guys. But it's been a great adjustment. I love it here."

— Bryant Selebangue on the transition from another school

Up next

The Sun Devils remain at home for an 8 p.m. game on Wednesday against Southern Methodist. It will be televised on FS1. ASU played SMU last season in Dallas, winning 75-57. Three current Sun Devils played in that game with Collins tallying 11 points and five assists.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State men's basketball has no problem beating San Francisco