ASU’s Historic Comeback Falls Short to Washington

(Photo: Emma Jeanson/WCSN)

Frankie Collins’ half-court heave to close the first half fell hopelessly short. There was an exasperated look painting his face and it matched the general feeling around Desert Financial Arena. Fans fled from the increasingly dreary showing unfolding in front of them.

They should have stayed.

Arizona State Men’s Basketball (13-14, 7-9 Pac-12) entered halftime down 21 points after allowing a 16-0 run the last five minutes of the first half. ASU’s junior point guard had only one word to describe what transpired over the next 20 minutes plus overtime.

“Crazy,” Collins said. “A lot of mixed emotions out there.”

In the end, the result never changed. Washington (15-12, 7-9 Pac-12) won 84-82 in overtime, but how the game reached its ultimate conclusion was nothing short of historic. By the time regulation ended tied at 75 — following a Collins’ lay-in with six seconds remaining — ASU had etched their names in the record books. The comeback from 21 points at halftime, and 25 at a point early in the second half were both Pac-12 records for deficits erased.

ASU head coach Bobby Hurley was juxtaposed between a state of adulation for his team’s come-from-behind-effort and aggravated vexation for the effort, or complete lack thereof, that dug a hole ASU had to climb out of.

“I’ve never been as conflicted,” Hurley said. “There’s a side of me that is furious and then there’s another side that has great admiration for what I saw.”

The Sun Devils came out of the gates flat-footed, and the Huskies began burying them early. Washington’s senior forward and Pac-12 leading scorer — who puts up 21.2 points a game — Keion Brooks Jr. started the game aggressively on the offensive end.

Early in the game, Brooks picked up a loose ball as the Sun Devil defense scrambled in front of him and lined a straightaway three over the top of oncoming ASU junior guard Adam Miller to open Washington’s scoring on the night. At the close of the first ten minutes, Brooks already had 10 of his final 21 points and his team was leading by nine.

All ASU provided was a wholesale letdown in the first half. It shot 28.6 percent from the field to the Huskies 46.2 percent. Washington also dominated down low, pouring in 18 points in the paint to the Sun Devils’ 10.

The Sun Devils’ bench, which contributed 31 points (24 in the second half) to the effort Thursday night, proved to be the spark-plug the starting group needed. Around a minute and a half into the second period ASU junior guard Bobby Hurley Jr., who had appeared in just five games for an average of two and a half minutes in those contests, checked in. Normally a garbage time player, the message from coach Hurley to his team was sent. He was not happy with his group.

“We’re not talented enough to not be completely together and play together,” Hurley said.

“For me to get to the point that I’m going to the bench to the degree I did in the second half, kind of tells you all that you need to know,” Hurley said. “How furious one could get to get to that point. But then after that, it’s like we flipped a switch.”

The message was received.

“(The second unit) came in and did what they’re supposed to do,” Collins said. “They got stops and (the starters) couldn’t get stops. Made some buckets when we couldn’t make buckets. Shoutout to them for coming in and being ready and playing harder than we were.”

Collins himself made history during the comeback effort setting the program single-season steal record at 77, breaking a 42-year-old record set by guard Lafayatte Lever in 1982. His record-breaking swipe came with 35 seconds remaining with the Sun Devils down just two. At the moment of the steal, all 7,041 fans inside Desert Financial Arena sounded more like 50,000. A crowd delirious with hope. It just wasn’t enough.

“I mean it’s a great individual accomplishment,” Collins said. “But at the end of the day, it’s about winning this game and it’s a team sport. Just wish we could have had the win.”

The result sent the group below .500 for the first team since a season-opening loss to Mississippi State in early November. As the losses have continued to pile for ASU it’s become increasingly hard for many to remember any winning ways from this group.

“I can’t imagine what it’s like to be on a team that’s won like a handful of games right now,” Hurley said. “It feels like we’ve only won like three games this year. That’s how I feel about where the season is right now.”