ASU Men’s Basketball: Sun Devils fall to Stanford 79-76, fall out with refs

(Photo: Marlee Smith/WCSN)

After entering the second half of his team’s game against Stanford on Saturday night down 10 points, Arizona State Men’s Basketball head coach Bobby Hurley decided to implement a full-court press on the Cardinal. But, before the defensive scheme could make any impact on the game, both Hurley and ASU sophomore guard DJ Horne had each picked up a quick technical foul for voicing their frustrations with the officiating – a foreshadow of what would come at the conclusion of the game.

Nevertheless, Hurley’s full-court press was successful, and the Sun Devils had come back to lead the game by as many as four at one point in the second half. However, Stanford was able to overcome ASU’s second-half surge, and defeat the Sun Devils 79-76.

“I’m just proud of my guys’ effort,” Hurley said after the game. “My guys fought their asses off. [They] played a winning game. I’ve never been a part of a game like this in my life as a player or coach.”

There was a good chance that Hurley might have been referring to the free-throw disparity between the two squads on Saturday night. Stanford attempted 41 free throws on the night, draining 32, while ASU only attempted nine, making seven of them.

Stanford also collected the game-winning points from the charity stripe, after ASU junior forward Jalen Graham fouled Stanford sophomore forward Brandon Angel’s corner three-point attempt with 1.1 seconds left in the game.

Following the foul call by the referee, Hurley and a few Sun Devils were chirping at the official – so much so that once the final buzzer had sounded, ASU sophomore guard Jay Heath brushed up against one of the officials in a tense situation that had to have ASU’s players and the officials separated.

One can understand the Sun Devils frustration with the officiating, as both halves equally saw a drastic difference in the number of free throws attempted between both teams.

In the first half that saw the Sun Devils go down as many as 10 points, they only went to the free-throw line once, going 1-1, while Stanford went 13-17.

However, ASU found a way to get points elsewhere in the second half and get back into the game through its defensive efforts – the Sun Devils forced nine turnovers. They also got high-level offensive play from Graham.

Graham finished the night with 16 points, six rebounds and three assists, with 14 of those points coming in the second half. He also had a game-tying two-pointer with 7.5 seconds left, before ultimately fouling Stanford’s Angel on the other end.

“[Graham] has been a real go-to guy for us,” Hurley said about Graham, who is averaging 14.6 points in his last three contests. “He made some clutch shots again. He’s done it the last three games with his offense. He’s battling, so hopefully he continues to take steps. It’s great to see him play basketball like that.”

Graham and his Sun Devils will have a chance to rebound when they travel to square up against the No. 16 ranked USC Trojans on Monday, Jan. 24 at 9:00 p.m MST.