Thursday night was the same old story for the Arizona St. Sun Devils against a Stanford Cardinal team that had lost three in a row. Despite Stanford's lack of momentum heading into this game, the Cardinal put up more than enough points to outpace ASU 68-44 by night's end.
Without leading scorer and facilitator (due to a shortage of guards) Trent Lockett, the Sun Devils only scored 20 and 24 points in each half. Only Jordan Bachynski registered double-digits points, with a career-high 24, while the rest of the team managed a combined 20 points. Yes, Bachnyski had more than half of ASU's points on this night.
The Cardinal, meanwhile, had three double-digit scorers, namely starting backcourt guards Aaron Bright (16) and Chasson Randle (14) along with reserve Anthony Brown (11).
The game was close through the first half, with ASU trailing only 28-20 heading into the locker room. However, the Sun Devils scored only three points during the opening 6:30 of the second half, and the Cardinal pulled away by scoring consistently.
Things don't get any easier for ASU: they take on the 7-2 Cal Golden Bears (who are taking on the Arizona Wildcats at the moment) on Saturday. Head coach Herb Sendek also announced post-game that Lockett will not play against the Golden Bears this weekend and will instead target a return next week. If ASU can't find an offensive spark without Lockett, Saturday could turn into another long affair for Herb Sendek and his players.