(Photo: Brady Klain/WCSN)
Desert Financial Arena was silent Thursday night.
There was no crowd, no marching band and no student section to soak in Arizona State Men’s Basketball’s heartbreaking 84-82 loss to rival Arizona. In a game of highs and lows – amidst a season of highs and lows – the Sun Devils left the floor with nothing but a controversial last possession and the snarky hollers of Arizona’s players.
Rebounding – the fundamental issue that has plagued the Sun Devils all season – hurt most after Arizona freshman forward Azuolas Tubelis scored a last-second layup off of a rebound that came from junior guard James Akinjo’s missed three pointer. It was the only instance during the game where the Sun Devils were out-rebounded.
With ten seconds remaining – before Arizona’s game-winning possession – ASU senior guard Remy Martin drove to the basket. As he went up for the layup, Martin was knocked to the floor by Tubelis and looked up expecting a call. Meanwhile, Arizona was already down the court as the buzzer rang, with the basketball in the hoop.
“I thought that Remy Martin, after watching it live and then watching it again after on film, clearly was fouled by a player in the restricted area,” head coach Bobby Hurley said. “He was contacted, his arms did not go straight up, and the guy should’ve been whistled a foul and put on the free throw line. They swallowed their whistles. And the rest is history tonight.”
The battle in the second half was filled with angry shouts from both benches as the hostile teams scrambled to create an offensive rhythm that would secure each a steady lead.
With 12 minutes left to play, the Wildcats went on a 6-0 scoring run to lead 56-50. Arizona began to feel as if it regained some security, which the team had felt for all but the last two minutes of the first half.
The battle continued as the Sun Devils earned their biggest lead of the game with a deep three from Martin, making the score 76-69. ASU had its confidence at that point, and the Sun Devils could almost taste the victory until the frightful final possession.
Martin and freshman guard Josh Christopher led the Sun Devils with a combined 36 points. Senior guard Alonzo Verge Jr., as well as sophomore forward Jalen Graham, also reached double digits, as the two had 22 combined points and eight rebounds.
“Pleased with Jalen Graham, how he’s had very limited time on the court and limited practice, to step up and play the game he played after being out for several weeks,” Hurley said.
Despite having a better field-goal percentage and winning the battle on the boards, the Sun Devils ended the first half trailing the Wildcats 35-30. The Sun Devils got to the free throw line frequently but couldn’t capitalize on their opportunities, shooting just 38% from the stripe. Due to poor passing, ASU also had 12 turnovers in the frame, which was double that of its opponent’s.
Arizona led the Sun Devils by as much as 11 points early; however, Verge Jr. was able to find a rhythm and scored 11 of his 12 points in the last four minutes of the first half.
The Sun Devils can redeem themselves in just a few days as they travel down south to face the Wildcats again, this time in Tucson.
“We get revenge on Monday,” Christopher said.
