Arizona State men’s basketball has earned two of its last three victories by responding correctly to wake-up calls, Saturday’s 82-79 win over Santa Clara in Las Vegas being the latest example.
Bobby Hurley’s ejection in the final seconds of the first half after Trevor Best wasn’t rewarded for trying to take a charge galvanized the Sun Devils into playing with much more energy and physicality in the second half.
It sparked a 29-6 run that turned a 19-point deficit into a four-point lead. ASU won the second half 44-24 after losing the first 55-38.
It was three games ago when Hurley called for a full line change less than 90 seconds in against Oklahoma, which then propelled ASU to a comfortable win.
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The signature press defense that ASU has gotten to click so well at times played a big part in turning things around on Saturday, with assistant coach Nick Irvin — who had stepped in for Hurley — providing a lot of the energy from the bench.
The Sun Devils also benefitted from a much colder shooting Santa Clara. The Broncos were 0-for-13 from 3 to start the second half after they shot the lights out in the first (9 of 15).
On offense, ASU went out of its way to attack the basket through Pig Johnson, Allen Mukeba and Massmba Diop. It punished Santa Clara in transition with a 17-6 advantage.
Moe Odum played with four fouls for much of the second half and finished with six assists to just one turnover. He scored all 12 of his points in the first half.
Johnson scored 15 points, including 14 in the second.
Hurley’s ejection may have had the intended impact, as his team was not only playing with a different approach, it had a massive foul advantage in the second half (14-7) after it was pretty evenly split in the first (8-7 Santa Clara).
The 17-point deficit it faced at half was tied for the largest in a win in program history.
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