ASU Men’s Basketball: Sun Devils are overpowered by WSU in another disappointing 2nd half effort

(Photo: Nicole Hernandez/WCSN)

Lack of size became a crippling hindrance for the Arizona State Sun Devils as they dropped a home game to the Washington State Cougars on Sunday, losing 91-83.

After losing four consecutive games, three on the road, the Devils found solace at home with a victory over Washington on Thursday, but were unable to follow up and get back to a .500 record.

ASU had another slow start on offense, making only one of its first seven field goals. The Cougars went into a 2-3 zone and with two big men in the back, challenged the Devils to attack. ASU settled for contested jumpers and found itself trailing by 10 less than eight minutes in.

“We have to do a better job with our leaders early in games so we aren’t chasing so early,” ASU head coach Bobby Hurley said.

The Sun Devils managed to not let the game get away. They made four straight layups and a couple threes to pull back into the game, and with 6:39 left in the first, grabbed their first lead.

Junior guard Tra Holder, after turning on the jets in the second half against Washington on Wednesday, picked up where he left off. He had 16 points on 6-8 shooting in the first half and finished with 27 points and seven rebounds.

On the other side, Josh Hawkinson became the fulcrum for Washington State. The 6-foot-10 senior forward had 16 points and seven rebounds at the half and finished with 30 points, including two threes, and 10 rebounds. The smaller Devils had no clear answers to stop him throughout the game.

Defensively, ASU struggled to defend the interior with Torian Graham and Kodi Justice often being tasked with defending much bigger guys on the low block. The Devils also struggled to match up with the Cougars’ well-organized fastbreak. Wazzu had 22 fastbreak points and 20 assists.

“Our transition defense was bad,” Hurley said. “It’s been bad in some other games too. We talk about the urgency that you need to sprint back, but it’s just not there.”

The quick, mobile offense started to turn the game in Washington State’s favor in the second half. The Cougars made 10 of 12 shots and had five players score points during a 15-5 run, taking a seven-point lead.

The Devils’ quest to hang on got a boost after senior guard Torian Graham heated up. Graham shot 2-10 in the first half, but made his first four shots after the break. He finished with 19 points on 7-18 shooting.

It wasn’t quite enough for ASU to overcome the size disadvantage. Hawkinson took every ASU player he could into the post, and Washington State shot 58 percent in the second half. The Devils attempted to play big in response, running Obinna Oleka and Ramon Vila out at the same time. Unfortunately for ASU, neither was successful in stopping Washington State’s bigs on the perimeter.

“We knew that Hawkinson was going to be a problem, with his size and his skills and our smaller lineups,” Hurley said. “We didn’t really take advantage of him. He stayed in front of our guards. When we did have a chance to have a mismatch, there was really no mismatch.”

The mismatches forced ASU’s defenders to keep fouling in the final few minutes. The Cougars were in the bonus with 5:57 left in regulation.

What really put the game out of reach for ASU was a huge cold streak on offense. Starting at the 9:43 mark, ASU made only one of 10 field goals. The same kind of cold streaks killed the Devils during their California road trip, and shot down their hopes of a comeback.

The Devils hit a pair of threes but traded two buckets on the other end, putting the game out of reach.

ASU (10-12, 3-6 in Pac-12) will head to the northwest for a road game against the No.10 Oregon Ducks on Thursday.