ASU Men’s Basketball: Sun Devils split road games on Washington trip

(Photo: Marlee Smith/WCSN)

For the Arizona State Sun Devils (13-8, 4-4), the 2019-20 campaign has been a rollercoaster full of highs and lows. From the comeback win to beat Arizona, to the beating taken by St. Mary’s at Talking Stick Resort Arena, the Sun Devils have logged performances all over the spectrum.

Their two-game road trip to Pullman and Seattle, to play Washington State and Washington respectively, was no different.

Washington State

On Wednesday, Arizona State kicked off their road trip with a sloppy opening half against Washington State, with each possession seemingly ending with a turnover or an exasperated, frantic attempt at finding the bucket.

Head coach Bobby Hurley made numerous lineup changes throughout the period in an attempt to find a group who could take care of the basketball. By halftime, the Sun Devils had turned over the ball 15 times.

ASU trailed by six coming into the second half, and WSU continued their first half momentum, jumping out to a commanding 15-point lead. This offensive explosion was primarily due to the efforts of WSU’s CJ Elleby, who scored 27 points on the night by hitting clutch three pointers for the Cougars down the stretch.

Remy Martin tried to answer the call to action from Elleby and step up his game in the second half to spark a comeback, but the junior point guard couldn’t seem to make anything stick, shooting 1-of-8 from the field in the period.

With Martin uncharacteristically missing nearly every shot he took, ASU needed a boost to fuel a comeback and they found their answer by doing what WSU did to them, playing aggressively. ASU caused nine second-half turnovers.

By the way of layups and hard ball on the ground via Romello White, Jalen Graham and Alonzo Verge, the Sun Devils slowly erased the deficit with a 18-3 run to tie the game at 51 apiece with over 10 minutes remaining.

WSU regained the lead, but ASU remained close on their hip with a monstrous 11-0 run in the late minutes of the contest. Graham scored five straight baskets, giving ASU a one-point lead with 18 seconds left.

As the clock ran down, it was obvious it was going to be Elleby’s shot to make. The sophomore received a pass at the top of the key and began to drive to the lane, before stepping back behind the three-point line and letting a contested three go. With less than five seconds to go, Elleby drained his shot and the Cougars took the lead.

Jaelen House sprinted down the court with the ball for ASU in an attempt to get the lead back, but in a fitting fashion for ASU, ended the game with a turnover after throwing the ball into the stands on a bad pass.

ASU finished the game with a season-high 21 turnovers in the 67-65 loss.

Washington

Following the loss to WSU, ASU felt as if their backs were against the wall when they traveled to Seattle to face Washington. Standing at below .500 in the conference play put the team on the bubble of Pac-12 contention and they needed a win to gain some room to work with in the standings.

They would get that room to work with against the Huskies in a much-needed 87-83 victory on Saturday night.

Martin responded to his 1-of-8 second half performance against the Cougars by leading all scorers with 19 points, good enough to match his overall season average.

It has been the case numerous times this season for the Sun Devils to live and die by Martin and a second scorer, usually Romello White, and if the rest of the team performs to supplement them, the results usually turn out well. On the contrary, the team has also seen poor performances from other players outside the Marin-White duo, providing little support and derailing winning efforts.

However, Saturday night was one of the positive exhibitions, with five players finishing in double figures in scoring. Along with Martin’s 19, White, Verge and Rob Edwards had 18 apiece, and junior Khalid Thomas came off the bench with 10.

Just like their comeback on Wednesday to put themselves in a winning position against the Cougars, points in the paint were a big factor for ASU, scoring 30 from just below the basket.

Free throws also proved to be a big help for the Sun Devils, sinking 27-33, good enough for 82 percent from the charity stripe.

From the first minute on, ASU held the lead over Washington, never once relinquishing it. The Sun Devils led by six going into halftime and halfway through the second half extending their lead to 13 points.

The Huskies put together a late push towards the end of the contest, but it was too little, too late for ASU’s opponent and the Sun Devils got the win they needed to get some breathing room in conference play.

Next up for the Sun Devils is a pair of matchups against the Los Angeles based schools. ASU will host UCLA on Thursday, then USC on Saturday.