ASU sneaks by Utah 79-75 to keep NCAA tournament hopes alive

(Photo: ASU Athletics/Steve Rodriguez)

The Sun Devils reeled in another conference win against Utah on Thursday night in Tempe as Arizona State (14-5, 3-3) took down Utah (14-5, 3-4) 79-75 in what was widely considered a “must win” game for the Sun Devils.

Utah’s damage control came too late as ASU proved too much.

With five minutes to go, the Sun Devils led the Utes 64-61 coming off a Jordan Bachynski layup.

With a minute and 22 seconds remaining the Sun Devils made it a 6-point game with back-to-back three’s from Jahii Carson and Jonathan Gilling giving ASU an insurmountable 73-67 lead.

Jermaine Marshall sealed the win making two free throws with 11 seconds left to give ASU the 79-75 victory.

Turnovers, lazy passes, and lackadaisical defense made for a lackluster start to the game. The Utes and Sun Devils went back and forth for the majority of the first half only tying the game once at 19 with 11 minutes and nine seconds remaining in the first frame.

Head coach Herb Sendek started Eric Jacobsen in the hopes that he could fill the void of Gilling’s underproduction in the last couple of games.

“I loved it,” Jordan Bachynski said of adding Jacobsen to the starting lineup. “I think Eric is a phenomenal player. He’s a big body. He is really strong and he works really well around the rim. It opens up the floor a lot more.”

Gilling outplayed Jacobsen scoring 13 points and dishing out six assists. Bachynski recorded a double-double with 11 points and 12 boards playing against his brother Dallin.

“I thought Gilling really competed on defense and then the icing on the cake was the big three he hit down the homestretch,” Sendek said. “He’s a tough matchup as a big guard and has a great ability to get into the lane and get it finished. We broke down on leverage early and he really got it going for us.”

The Sun Devils looked like a defeated team with ten minutes left in the first half as shots continued to rim out. The Utes took advantage of ASU’s plateau by going on a 9-0 run with seven minutes and 42 seconds left in the half to widen their lead to 28-19.

Go-to producer Jahii Carson struggled early and was 1 of [toggle title=””]…[/toggle]5 from the free throw line at halftime. The Mesa product also had numerous shots rattle around the rim but refuse to fall. Carson improved tremendously in the second half finishing the night with 23 points and eight rebounds.

“I just wasn’t hitting shots but I just kept attacking,” Carson said. “If I didn’t attack enough and if I didn’t shoot the basketball I wouldn’t be able to score.  I can’t get my confidence low I just had to keep shooting.”

Every time ASU did something positive in the first half, they negated their progress with a turnover or a foul.

“It seems like we had a lot of foul trouble tonight and having Jordan and Jahii in foul trouble definitely made it slippery skating for us for a while,” Sendek said.

It might have been a last second shot by Shaquielle McKissic in fleeting seconds of the first half that revived whatever little momentum lingered as the Utes took a 41-37 into the halftime locker room.

ASU came out and looked stronger and in the second frame.

 “When we stepped out on the floor the second half, we all had great energy coming out. We were all positive. We came around and dug deep and just said no more. No more easy shots,” Jahii Carson said.

 The Sun Devils went on a 7-0 run over two minutes to make the score 48-46 Utah with 15 minutes and 12 seconds remaining. Barnes made one of his two foul shots to make it a one-point game.

While Egor Koulechov didn’t appear in the game at all tonight, Bo Barnes came up big with nine points and three rebounds.

“Bo Barnes got those minutes tonight. We were plus 18 when he was out on the floor,” Sendek said.

ASU started to ignite, taking the lead of 50-49 with 14 minutes left.

McKissic continued to fuel ASU’s efforts making crucial baskets giving ASU a 60-56 lead as the seven- minute mark approached.

Back-and-forth play ensued for the rest of the second half The Utes seemed as if they adopted ASU’s sloppy, first-half play, killing their own progress with fouls and turnovers.

Jordan Loveridge led the Utes with 22 points followed closely by Delon Wright who added 21 of his own.

“I’m really proud of the ways our guys kept their composure when we were down and really won the battle. We had to fight tooth and nail to get it,” Sendek said.

The Sun Devils will take on Colorado in Tempe on Saturday night at 5:00.

 You can contact this author via email kvicario@asu.edu or on twitter @k_vicario18

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