TEMPE, Ariz. -- Of course Jonathan Gilling and Bo Barnes would rather spend more time on the floor. Especially this year, their last at Arizona State. But neither makes a big deal out of it, resolved to consider the bigger picture.
"To me, it's always doing what's best for the team," Barnes said.
Seniors Barnes and Gilling are the Sun Devils' sixth men 'A' and 'B', and at no time this season were their contributions more valuable than in ASU's 78-72 victory over Colorado on Saturday, when the Sun Devils (9-9, 1-4 Pac-12) shot 71 percent in the second half to win their first conference game.
Barnes made 4 of 6 field goals, all 3-pointers, and played a critical role in the defensive plan against Colorado guard Askia Booker, who was handcuffed in the second half. Gilling was 2 of 4 from 3-point range and three of his season-high six assists came in the second half.
"You look at when we play our best, those guys are a big part of that," ASU coach Herb Sendek said. "They are two key players for us. Both guys can put the ball in the basket. We are a better team when they are playing well."
Barnes' 3-pointer with 6:40 remaining against Colorado broke a tie and gave ASU the for good. The signature play of the second half was Gilling's intuitive back-door bounce pass that set up forward Shaquille McKissic for a one-handed dunk -- the move was selected as the Pac-12 play of the week. McKissic also converted an alley-oop pass from Barnes for one of his dunks.
"Bo threw me that alley-oop and my juices got flowing," McKissic said.
ASU will attempt to extend that good feeling this weekend when their road-heavy early stretch concludes with games at California and Stanford. Like travel partner Arizona, the Sun Devils play five of their first seven conference games on the road.
Both games this weekend will start about bed time to accommodate the conference's TV commitments. The Sun Devils will play at Cal (11-7, 1-4) at 9 p.m. Arizona time Thursday and at Stanford (13-4, 4-1) at 10 p.m. on Saturday.
"Winning does a great deal for a team's spirits, but we have to quickly more on," Sendek said. "We didn't reinvent ourselves. Guys made shots."
When the ball moves faster, shots become easier.
"We were really moving the ball, which is a big thing we have right now, because sometimes it sticks too much or it is stagnant," said Barnes, a Scottsdale native who attended Scottsdale Christian and Westwind Prep before he began his college career at Hawaii.
"I feel like we are hard to guard when we move the ball and share like we were. I think it starts on defense. When we play hard on defense, it really helps our offense out."
As Pac-12 play has continued, Gilling and Barnes have been called on a little more, Gilling in particular. Gilling, 6-foot-7, is averaging 23.2 minutes a game while playing almost exclusively at power forward in five Pac-12 games, third on the team behind McKissic and center Eric Jasobsen. Barnes, 6-foot-4, is averaging 15.8 minutes at off guard.
Arguably the Sun Devils' best three-point shooters, Gilling and Barnes have been the group's most efficient perimeter scorers all season. Gilling has a team-high 36 three-pointers while making 50 percent from the field, and Barnes is second with 27 threes while shooting 41.5 percent. Barnes has eight threes in league play; Gilling has seven.
Barnes came into his own in the second half of the 2013-14 season after injuries opened the door, and he averaged 19.6 minutes while shooting 42 percent from three-point range in the final 16 games.
The arrival of six contributing newcomers has made it difficult to find playing time for everyone, one of the factors that have kept Gilling and Barnes in the supporting roles they played on last season's NCAA tournament team.
"I think Bo is at his best when he stays in his lane and plays his game," Sendek said. "He can really help our team doing that. He doesn't have to have expansion. He doesn't need to be anything more than who he is."
As one of three seniors, Barnes has accepted a leadership role, and he tries to set the example by with his play in practice and games.
"That's something I try to come with every day, just be the hardest worker," he said.
"Everybody would like to play more, but whatever the coaches want me to do I'm down to do."
Follow Jack Magruder on Twitter
