Close call brings locker room pall for Arizona State

Two different trains of thought emerged following an Arizona State men’s basketball game which bordered on being booted.

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One side, which consisted of players, looked and sounded as if they came from a funeral.

The Sun Devils managed a 66-62 victory against hot-shooting Montana State at Wells Fargo Arena, but they were clearly agitated with their performance on offense, defense and at accepting freebies.

“Today was frustrating,” said forward Jeff Pendergraph after his 15th career double-double proved essential in bailing out the Sun Devils.

The other side, coach Herb Sendek, saw his team eke out a much-needed victory against a Bobcats team boasting four seniors and a junior in the lineup.

The Bobcats love to hoist from long distance, and they hit a whopping 58 percent of their 3-pointers while the Sun Devils made just 4 of 15 from behind the arc.

“Sticky fingers,” was Sendek’s description of his team’s poor ball movement.

He compared it to driving a car in the wrong gear, using the wrong gas.

ASU led all Pac-10 teams in defense and foul shooting.

The Bobcats shot 51 percent from the floor, and ASU left at least 11 points at the free-throw line.

ASU trailed 26-17 with 5:43 left in the first half.

After taking an early second-half lead, the Sun Devils fell behind again with under four minutes remaining.

“They gave us everything we could handle and then some,” Sendek said.

“The way they shot the ball was sensational.”

So, too, was sophomore Sun Devil forward Jerren Shipp.

He’s shooting nearly 49 percent from behind the arc after scoring 17 points in 38 minutes.

Finally, Montana State turnovers helped Pendergraph and Shipp give ASU its final lead in the last two minutes, but barely.

The game wasn’t sealed until the final second.

After 39 minutes of zone defense, freshman James Harden (17 points, seven assists) suggested to Sendek the team go man-to-man on the Bobcats’ final possession, and ASU forced Montana State into an awkward 3-pointer.

“We’re doing a much better job of closing out games,” Shipp said.

“That’s a good sign for us.”

The stats agree. ASU has won both games decided by six points or fewer (LSU, Montana State). Last year, the Sun Devils were 3-12 in that category.

But after 16 points and 13 rebounds, Pendergraph saw this escape act as an alibi.

“How many of those 12 losses came to Pac-10 teams, the nation’s best?” Pendergraph said.

“Not Montana State.”

His comments weren’t a shot against Bobcats, but more so at his own team.

With two more games left before Pac-10 competition begins, the team leader knows performances such as Tuesday won’t work after New Year’s.

Never one to panic, Sendek gave his team today off.

“We get to think about things,” Pendergraph said.

“We’ll come back Thursday ready to go, trying to close out and leave Christmas break playing like Sun Devils, not those guys.”