ASU Men’s Basketball: Stellar second-half play guides Sun Devils past Utes

(Photo: Marlee Smith/WCSN)

In a tale of two halves, the Arizona State Sun Devils (11-7, 2-3 Pac-12) found a rhythm for a second-half surge that would propel them to a decisive 83-64 victory over the Utah Utes in Tempe on Saturday night.

The Sun Devils opened the game with several quick buckets, and paired with some strong defense, ASU jumped out to an early lead. They wouldn’t relinquish said lead for the rest of the contest.

Despite managing to hold that lead, ASU’s offense, which has been inconsistent for the majority of the season, continued to misfire throughout the first half. They eventually found results by the hands of senior guard Rob Edwards, who was 3-for-4 from three point range in the first half alone and ended the game with a game-high 24 points.

However, despite the strong start for Edwards, the points weren’t distributed well otherwise. Junior guard Remy Martin, who entered the contest averaging 19.5 points per game, escaped the half shooting 3-for-10 with six points. No other Sun Devil had more than four.

Luckily for the Sun Devils, the Utes were even worse from the field, shooting just 29 percent, and were 1-for-10 from three-point range. ASU managed to shut down Utah’s standout forward, Timmy Allen, holding the sophomore to just seven first half points.

“He’s a really tough guard,” ASU head coach Bobby Hurley said. “You have to find him on multiple levels…He does a little bit of everything in their offense.”

In the second half, things got chippy, with both coaches picking up at least one technical foul. Utes head coach Larry Krystkowiak was ejected for a double technical, while Hurley settled for a single tech earlier in the half.

On the court though, the Sun Devils reflected the fire of their emotional head coach and turned on the scoring in a much different period than the first.

Martin and the rest of the Sun Devils opened the second half with a 10-2 run, and the junior guard began to find success by driving to the cup. Martin did struggle though with his trademark midrange game, which couldn’t seem to find its way into the basket.

“I think in the first half I was trying to find (ways to score) myself, and I wasn’t hitting my midrange shots, the shots I usually make,” Martin said. “In the second half I just let it come to me a little bit and hit Taeshon or Rob for open shots.”

Martin did manage to find his teammates with open looks, and they capitalized. Sophomore forward Taeshon Cherry scored 10 in the second half and was 2-for-4 from three. Martin’s backcourt mate, Edwards, expanded on his strong first half with even stronger second.

Edwards drained five of his six attempts from three-point range, and was 6-for-7 from three, showing just how vast the senior’s potential remains even after an on-and-off year.

Hurley described the effect Edwards’ play had on the rest of the Sun Devils as, “a pin in a balloon.”

“(Edwards) just takes so much pressure off,” Hurley said. “I’m happy to see him play that way and I hope he continues.”

The senior capped off ASU’s resurgent second half when he took, and made, five consecutive technical foul-induced free throws after Krystkowiak’s ejection.

With Desert Financial Arena roaring, Edwards drained all five and raised his arms to the crowd as he exited the game for the final time.

Propelled by Edwards’ efforts and a gritty 14 point and four assist second-half performance from Martin, the Sun Devils cruised the rest of the way to their second conference victory.

Next up for ASU is a Territorial Cup rematch with the Arizona Wildcats in Tempe. Tip is at 7 p.m. next Saturday.