Alonzo Verge Jr. had 23 points, seven assists and six rebounds and Remy Martin had 23 points and five assists when the host Arizona State Sun Devils broke a two-game losing streak with a 98-81 victory over Texas Southern on Saturday afternoon in Tempe, Ariz.
Freshman Jaelen House tied a season high with 20 points and made a season-high five 3-pointers while Kimani Lawrence had 11 points for the Sun Devils (9-4), who never trailed and shot a season-high 57.1 percent from the field.
John Jones had a career-high 27 points and a season-high four 3-pointers, Tyrik Armstrong had 10 points and a season-high 12 assists as Chris Baldwin had 10 points and seven rebounds for the Tigers (3-9), who have played 10 of their first 12 games on the road while facing an ambitious schedule that has included stops at Arkansas, Gonzaga, San Diego State and Oregon.
Arizona State forward Romello White was helped off the floor and did not return after suffering a sprained right ankle when he got tangled up with a defender under the Tigers' basket with 12:18 remaining in the first half. White had double-doubles in five of his previous six games and double-digit rebounds in all six. The Sun Devils open Pac-12 play at No. 24 Arizona next Saturday.
Martin, who entered the game as the Sun Devils' leading scorer at 17.5 points per game, had been scoreless in three of his previous four halves. He was held scoreless in a 96-56 loss to Saint Mary's on Dec. 18 and did not score in the first half of a 67-60 loss to Creighton last Saturday.
Verge, who was 10 of 13 from the field, has scored 120 points in the last five games (24.0 ppg).
The Sun Devils shot 75 percent in the first half and made 12 of 25 3-pointers overall after their two worst shooting games of the season. They shot 35.4 percent in against Creighton after shooting 35.9 percent in the blowout Saint Mary's defeat three days earlier.
Jones had a pair of 3-pointers and Tigers were within seven points at 68-61 with 11:31 remaining but were within single digits only once after that.
--Field Level Media
Texas Southern | Arizona State | |
John Jones 27 | Scoring | Remy Martin 23 |
Tyrik Armstrong 12 | Assists | Alonzo Verge Jr. 7 |
Yahuza Rasas 9 | Rebounds | Alonzo Verge Jr. 6 |
John Jones 7 | Free Throws Made | Remy Martin 6 |
Yahuza Rasas 2 | Steals | Kimani Lawrence 3 |
N/A | Blocks | Elias Valtonen 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Texas Southern | 81 | 43.3 | 9-22 | 20-24 | 16 | 30 | 0 | 5 | 22 |
Arizona State | 98 | 57.1 | 12-25 | 14-21 | 19 | 31 | 1 | 13 | 16 |