ASU’s offense resilient in Senior Day win over Utah 67-59

(Photo: Max Zepeda/WCSN)

TEMPE – At the 17:57 mark in the first half, Arizona State men’s basketball made its first 3-pointer from senior guard Devan Cambridge. Thirty-seven game minutes later, with 48 seconds left in regulation, Cambridge knocked down his second 3-point shot. In between those shots the Sun Devils’ shot 1-for-13 from deep, with the other 3-pointer coming from fifth-year guard Desmond Cambridge Jr., which gave ASU a 60-59 lead. Those final shots from beyond the arc gave ASU (19-9, Pac-12 10-7) the lead late and eventually the 67-59 win over Utah (17-11, Pac-12 10-7) on Senior Day.

“You know, as a Sun Devil, we have big coconuts,” Cambridge said. “We emphasize that nobody is afraid to take those big shots.”

The Sun Devils struggled from behind the arc, which had them behind at halftime against the Utes. However, the program’s adaptability to shrug off the poor shooting and feed senior forward Warren Washington, yielding a game-high 18 points and led the club to a season-high 40 paint points.

“We won the paint 40 to 30, and we did good work getting the ball to Warren,” head coach Bobby Hurley said. “We had good diversity on offense.”

Utah led 32-30 at halftime, ending the Utes’ 17-game winning streak when leading at the break. Head coach Bobby Hurley has won four straight senior days. He continues the tradition of sending the seniors and Sun Devil faithful home happy in the final game at Desert Financial Arena.

“I thought it was a gutsy win,” Hurley said. “I’m happy for the seniors. They’ve been great to me, great to the program this year…To see those guys perform the way they did, all contributing [in a] hard-fought win.”

After starting the game on a mini flurry, shooting 3-for-4 from the field, ASU proceeded to shoot 8-for-28 the rest of the half, including 0-for-6 from deep. Senior Day jitters may have led to some questionable shots early going for the Sun Devils. However, even with that considered, ASU’s offensive rhythm was all out of sorts.

Sun Devils playstyle went from sets and frequent off-ball movement but derived into isos and contested 3-point shots. Utah is in the upper echelons of the Pac-12 in 3-point shooting and was making shots early. ASU seemingly tried to match the perimeter shooting but failed to put up much of anything from beyond the arc. In the first half, most of ASU’s perimeter shots came on those fastbreaks early in the shot clock that was far off the mark.

Now, ASU did suffer from the occasional unlucky roll, seeing shots go in and out. Despite the bad luck, the questionable shot selection offended to remain in a runt. The Utes’ defense pressured high against Sun Devils’ ball handlers, not allowing any space to move the rock. It isolated ASU guards, who tried to salvage the possession by attacking the congested paint area.

After halftime, the Sun Devils hammered the paint. Washington used his size to slam down lobs and be physical inside the restricted area to give the offense some life. Washington scored eight of ASU’s first 12 second-half points.

“I felt like we were getting shots the whole game, but in the second half, I felt like shots were falling for the most part,” Washington said. “I feel like the way they guarded us, they were letting us, on the pick-and-roll, go to work…credit to coach Bobby Hurley because he’s an offensive genius.”

The program nearly doubled its production in the paint within the first seven minutes. Hurley highlighted the team improved its cutting and movement with and without the basketball. ASU hits the high post often to generate easy buckets from those cuts toward the rim. Utah tried to neutralize the ball movement with a 2-3 zone, but Hurley thought the club responded well.

“We struggled with it versus Colorado,” Hurley said. “So you want to make sure that you can prove to yourself and have some confidence knowing that if the team shifts defenses, we can attack it appropriately.”

An improvement from the first half was finishing off Utes’ turnovers. Hurley implemented the full-court press to begin the second half, and like many times before this season, it had the opposing offense scrambling. The tenacious press defense contributed to 17 Utah turnovers, giving ASU 20 points off of turnovers and the lead near the final buzzer.

“It was our highest deflection game of the season. Forcing 17 turnovers was huge, and it wasn’t only when they were throwing the ball out of bounds. I thought our pressure helped,” Hurley said. “It was the right time when [junior guard Rollie] Worcester went out of the game to ramp up the pressure a little more. It was swarming the ball in the post and guys getting deflections.”

With 33 seconds left in the game, after having trouble securing rebounds all game, ASU relied on Washington to make a big-time defensive play to deflect the ball off of Utah. After the play, the senior forward laid on his back in the Utes’ paint, exhausted after the effort on the play, and raised both his fists in victory, sending the Sun Devils home winners on Senior Day 67-59.

ASU finished the game making seven of its last nine shots thanks to the offensive contributions from Cambridge and Washington late in the game. The duo combined for 34 points, and for Cambridge, his 14-point performance makes it 13-0 when he scores in double-figures for the Sun Devils.

“I emphasize that in the locker room,” Cambridge jokingly said on his offensive success. “I’m happy we made that happen on senior night…We had to come out today and handle business.”

The Sun Devils’ postseason future remains in the air because of recent struggles. However, ASU will enjoy the win and have its seniors ring the victory bell for the last time this season before heading off to finish the season on a three-game road trip.

“I feel like we’re road warriors,” Washington said. “These three games are going to be fun, and buckle up because it’s definitely going to be a ride.”