ASU Basketball: ASU falls to No. 7 Virginia in championship of Air Force Reserve Tip-Off Tournament

The Arizona State Sun Devils’ upset bid came up just short Sunday as they fell 48-45 to the number seven Virginia Cavaliers (6-0) in the championship round of the Air Force Reserve Tip-Off Tournament. Guard Remy Martin once again led all scorers with 21 points on 8-16 shooting while Rob Edwards added 10 points while snagging a team high six rebounds.

Much like the Sun Devils semifinal victory over the St. John’s Red Storm, ASU looked overmatched in the early parts of Sunday’s contest, quickly finding themselves down double digits midway through the first half. The vaunted Cavalier defense was as good as advertised, limiting the Sun Devils to a 31.8% (7-22) shooting percentage in the period. The ASU defense though was working to keep the game close, holding UVA to just 26 points, albeit at a much more efficient 45.8% (11-24) clip.

In similar fashion to Saturday’s comeback win, ASU used a strong start to the second half to grab an early lead, this time scoring the period’s first 12 points to take a nine point advantage. UVA though refused to go away quietly, using a mini run of their own to tie the game at 38 with 5:48 remaining.

From there, a back and forth battle ensued with neither team able to gain more than a two point advantage. A UVA three with 1:02 remaining gave the Cavaliers a 48-45 advantage, their largest lead in over seven minutes, and one ultimately large enough for UVA to emerge victorious.

Now standing at (3-2), ASU stays in Connecticut for a matchup with the Princeton Tigers. From there, the Sun Devils finish up their almost two-week road trip by heading to California for a matchup with the University of San Francisco Dons on December 3.