Quick Recap: Sun Devils Fall to Syracuse in Second Game of Battle 4 Atlantis

In the second game of the tournament, the Arizona State Sun Devils were unable to turn the corner in a loss to Syracuse.

After suffering a 12-point loss to the Baylor Bears in the opening round of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, many were curious as to how the Sun Devils would rebound in their second of three games. 

A tough Syracuse team awaited Arizona State after losing to VCU the day before. 

The Sun Devils, still learning how to mesh with nine new players to the roster, continued their growing pains in a loss to the Orange on Thanksgiving night. 

Here's how it all went down:

First-Half Recap

Starters

G DJ Horne
G Luther Muhammad
G Marreon Jackson
F Kimani Lawrence
F Alonzo Gaffney

Through the early stages of the season, the Sun Devils have earned a reputation to begin games rather slowly. 

Yet that wasn't the case for Arizona State in the opening-night loss to Baylor and the contest with Syracuse. The Sun Devils again got off to a strong start shooting on Thursday, leading the Orange 14-11 at the under-15 media timeout. 

Arizona State converted 7 of 11 shots to begin the game, with both teams shooting 53% from the floor. 

Buddy Boeheim had an early 12 points to propel Syracuse to overtake the Sun Devils lead in the first half. Arizona State stayed within striking range for majority of the first half, before the Orange went on a remarkable run to effectively put the game out of reach in the closing moments of the first half. 

Arizona State's last lead of the night came with 13:29 on the clock. Syracuse finished the final 5:33 of the first half on an 18-2 run, as the Sun Devils converted just 1 of 12 shots during that stretch. 

Arizona State headed to the tunnel down 48-30 at halftime. 

First-half leaders for Arizona State

Points: Jackson (8)
Rebounds: Lawrence (7)
Assists: Muhammad, Jackson (3)

Second-Half Recap

Both teams shot well to begin the second half as Arizona State failed to erase Syracuse's lead at the under-15 media timeout. The Orange still held a near 20-point lead, Arizona State 61-47. 

However, the Sun Devils forced a Syracuse timeout, as ASU trimmed the lead down to 11 points with under 10 minutes left. The Orange suffered from a 0-for-6 shooting stretch, going scoreless for nearly five minutes and allowing the Sun Devils a glimpse of hope down the stretch. 

With over two minutes remaining, Arizona State drew within seven points in a stretch that saw them shoot 5 of 7, with four different players contributing during that time. 

After a Jay Heath successful three-pointer that answered an Orange bucket, the Sun Devils called a timeout trailing 88-81. 

After a hectic sequence of events following a Syracuse inbound, the Sun Devils missed an open three to draw the lead within four points with over 30 seconds to play. Syracuse then bled a good portion of the remaining clock out, shooting free throws to extend the lead to 92-84 with 18.5 seconds left. 

The buzzer sounded and Arizona State dropped to 0-2 in the Battle 4 Atlantis, making only 3 of the last 11 shots to finish the game. 

Final stat leaders for Arizona State

Points: Marreon Jackson (17)
Rebounds: Kimani Lawrence (13)
Assists: Marreon Jackson (7)

ASU shot 47% from the free-throw line, although they did win the turnover battle with Syracuse, turning the ball over only eight times compared to the Orange's 11.

The Sun Devils hope to leave the tournament with at least one victory, with one last opportunity coming against the Auburn Tigers on Friday, Nov. 26 at 5:00 pm Arizona time.