Massamba Diop, a 7-foot-1 center, made both of his 3-point attempts and finished with a game-high 18 points in Arizona State’s 81-66 victory Sunday over Utah Tech on Sunday at Tempe, Ariz.
Diop, a freshman from Senegal, made 7 of 12 shots from the field and had six rebounds.
Santiago Trouet added 13 points and 10 rebounds for Arizona State (2-0).
Bench players Allen Mukeba (10 points), Marcus Adams Jr. (8) and Anthony “Pig” Johnson (7) combined for 25 points.
They outscored Utah Tech’s bench 25-8.
Maurice Odom led the Sun Devils with six assists and scored 14 points.
Utah Tech was led by Chance Trujillo’s 15 points. Noah Bolanga added 13 points, Ethan Potter had 12 and Jusaun Holt finished with 11.
Arizona State’s 13-2 run that gave the Sun Devils a 27-16 lead with 5:36 left in the first half proved to be the difference.
Diop made one of his 3-pointers in that run.
Utah Tech (2-2) did not come closer than eight points afterward.
The Trailblazers, who trailed 39-25 at halftime, cut the lead to 11 points on three different points of the second half, but Arizona State answered each time.
A 13-0 run by Utah Tech cut the lead to 75-65 with 2:39 left, but Arizona State responded with six unanswered points to seal the win.
The Sun Devils answered the late run with four points from Odum and a Diop dunk over the next minute.
The Sun Devils have not trailed through their two games this season. They also led from start to finish in the season opener against Southern Utah in an 81-64 win last week.
Arizona State committed eight turnovers while Utah Tech totaled 16 that led to 19 points for the Sun Devils.
Arizona State controlled the interior with 16 second-chance points and 38 points in the paint.
The Sun Devils’ 19 assists led to their 30 made field goals.
–Field Level Media
