Defensive second-half struggles hurt Arizona State against UCLA

(Photo: Rebecca Striffler/WCSN)

TEMPE – A tale of two halves rings true with Arizona State men’s basketball after its disappointing loss to No. 5 UCLA on Thursday. The tale starts with hope, feeding off the electric home crowd. The Sun Devils emphasize energy on the defensive end, being the enforcer against their Pac-12 rival. Up five at halftime, the upset appeared to be on the horizon.

However, in head coach Bobby Hurley’s words, this isn’t that type of movie.

“It’s not a Disney movie [or] a fairytale,” Hurley said, “You’re one game behind, you got this great crowd, and this is our moment. That’s not what life is about. You wish it was, but it’s not real.”

ASU was outscored by 17 points in the second half in its 74-62 loss to UCLA. The once ferocious defense had become a shell of its former self in the second half. A lack of urgency plagued the Sun Devils and gave the Bruins ample opportunities to crawl their way back into it.

“I mean, in the second half, we didn’t come out as aggressive as we did to start the game,” junior guard DJ Horne said. “[UCLA] just knew what to do at the end of the game.”

Despite the loss, Hurley and the program can take away multiple strong defensive performances by key Sun Devils, which can be used as an example of the defense’s capability.

ASU’s defense dominated the interior in the first half, allowing only six paint points. Senior forward Warren Washington played the role of a warden, leading the charge against any attempts to penetrate the paint. The seven-footer used his length to contest anything that moved within the restricted area, which gave the Bruins massive problems.

In the first half, UCLA shot a measly 1-of-9 on layups, having most of those attempts swatted away by Washington, which led ASU with three blocks. Even when Washington didn’t make contact with the ball, the senior forward’s length disrupted most of the Bruins’ shots, causing some to miss the rim completely. The grit of ASU’s rim protection had UCLA scrambling for answers early.

“I think it tells us that any given night, the weekend, we’ll lace them up and play against anybody,” Horne said. “It doesn’t matter who you are. We just got to come out there and play basketball.”

Washington wasn’t alone in protecting the paint, as senior guard Devan Cambridge joined in the effort shutting down UCLA’s most prolific scorer in the process. While only 6-foot-5, that didn’t stop Cambridge from exerting his prowess for protecting the rim, adding to ASU’s block total with two of his own. However, more important was Cambridge’s ability to hinder senior forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. from getting any presence inside.

The 6-foot-7 Jaquez Jr. tried plenty of times to try and back down the smaller Cambridge in the post, but all attempts were futile. Cambridge took on the challenge against the Bruins’ leading scorer. The first-year Sun Devil held the 16.7 points per game scorer to just nine points on 4-for-12 shooting, his second-lowest scoring mark of the year.

While the two Sun Devil starters often shined in those defensive moments, it was also unexpected bench players stepping up to continue applying the pressure. Sophomore center Enoch Boakye, who had played 35 minutes all season entering Thursday, was thrown into the game in the first half due to foul trouble by freshman forward Duke Brennan.

Despite the lack of playing time, Boakye slid in perfectly. The 6-foot-10 big man continued the success that Washington left off, having a huge block that led to a fastbreak bucket. ASU’s depth has been one of its biggest positives this year, and Boakye’s performance tonight strengthens that narrative.

“Happy for [Boakye]. He’s had a great attitude,” Hurley said. “He’s practiced hard. He hasn’t put his head down, and he deserved to go in there…He made an impact.”

The first 20 minutes for the Sun Devils highlighted the defensive potential that has been shown all season. ASU held the second-best offense in the conference to 37.5 percent shooting and forced ten turnovers. At last, the next 20 minutes didn’t match that level of intensity, with those numbers rising to 60.7 percent from the field and only three turnovers.

“I like what we potentially could do at that end of the floor, and we did it for 20 minutes. We didn’t do it the entire game,” Hurley said. “One minute in [the second half], they go on an 8-0 run. They got good players, so it’s not always easy, but we got to figure out how to play better early in that second half.”

The Bruins’ offense elevated in the second half, as redshirt senior guard Tyger Campbell and fifth-year guard David Singleton, who combined for 43 points, handed out buckets to anyone in their path. UCLA deserves the credit for knocking down multiple tough buckets, but the Sun Devils struggled to keep up with the duo at times, losing them multiple times in traffic for open shots to them.

“You know Singleton, leaving him a couple of times where you’re helping him, that was not our plan,” Hurley said. “We got to do a better job of understanding personnel and not leaving a guy like that can knock down three-point shots.”

The once-great interior defense began to slip. UCLA shot 7-of-11 on layups in the second half and finished with 20 paint points after ASU only allowed six in the first half. The Bruins became the enforcer at the rim and on the glass, as it snagged 11 offensive rebounds, which turned into 12 second-chance points.

Regardless of the result, the defense has been a consistent strong suit for the Sun Devils. The second-half defensive collapse may be the takeaway from Thursday’s game, but its first-half success showcased its prowess.

“These guys today, they went to the well,” Hurley said. “They played their ass off today. Now it’s about damage control and building them back up and getting them ready to come out again on Saturday night and do the same thing.”