Sun Devils upset USC Trojans 77-72, advance to quarterfinals

(Photo: Haley Spracale/WCSN)

LAS VEGAS — As Arizona State men’s basketball awaited its quarterfinal matchup against the USC Trojans — marking the second time the program played the late game in the Pac-12 Tournament — teams sitting on the NCAA Tournament bubble lost crucial games for their Tournament berths, creating an almost perfect scenario for ASU — win to strengthen its chances for a postseason bid.

The only thing standing between the Sun Devils and a better resume was the Trojans, who swept the two-game regular season series, earning a first-round bye. The last contest was separated by less than a week, as the two sides met up on March 4 at the Galen Center.

Beating a team three times in one season is a difficult task to accomplish but isn’t impossible. Before ASU’s game, UCLA achieved the feat hours earlier, defeating Colorado in the quarterfinals.

Before tip-off, the Sun Devils psyche themselves into believing a third loss to the Trojans was avoidable, manifesting their win hours before it happen.

Eventually, the idea became reality, as ASU (22-11) defeated USC (22-10) 77-72, yielding a semifinal contest against Arizona.

“Before we came into this game, we really put an emphasis on ‘they can’t beat us three times in a row,’” Washington said. “We knew it was going to be a dogfight. We knew it was going to be a defensive battle, so credit to them, they brought it out. … You kind of manifest it. We’ve just been preaching that the whole past 24 hours. I felt like we all came with the right mentality and results showed.”

The Sun Devils stormed out of the gates, erupting on an 8-0 lead on a 4-of-4 shooting performance. By the under-16 media timeout, the offense built a 15-7 lead, which would hold for the entire game. With the exception of a three-point game in the opening minutes, USC would get as close as four points multiple times but never overtook the lead.

Redshirt junior guard DJ Horne was pivotal in the first half, scoring 10 of his 16 points in the half. Horne mostly attacked the basket with layups or sometimes opted for a pull-up jumper. But to start and end the first 20 minutes, Horne nailed a 3-pointer to cement ASU’s lead.

“We got a big lead and I told the guys at halftime that ‘they’re too good of a team not to make a surge at us,’ which they did,” Hurley said. “We had another response so just got great contributions.”

Fifth-year guard Desmond Cambridge Jr. provided offensive firepower, scoring a season-high 27 points on an effective 47.6% from the floor. Cambridge was successful across the offensive end, nailing 3-pointers (6-of-12) and mid-range jumpers. His effort was highlighted in the second half, accumulating 16 points in 18 minutes of play.

Recently, Cambridge struggled to shoot the ball, averaging 9.3 points per game on 21.6% shooting. Cambridge has also been dealing with a toe injury, which he aggravated against Arizona on Feb. 25, and has been wearing a boot to help support the toe off the floor. With the adversity in recent weeks, it only took a conversation with a teammate to get him back on track.

“Confidence,” Cambridge said. “Literally, last night, I was talking to (senior forward) Alonzo Gaffney, just about the game yesterday. And he told me one thing that I needed to hear, that was just be confident in myself. I kept second-guessing a lot of my shots, a lot of my decisions. And when your teammates believe in you, sometimes that’s all you need.”

Along with Desmond’s effort, his younger brother and senior forward Devan Cambridge provided 11 points and five rebounds. Devan was also active on the defensive end, pestering Trojans on and off the ball and coming up with two steals.

Desmond’s six-year collegiate career is nearing its close, enhancing the value each postseason game has. A loss against USC could’ve marked his final basketball game, but a season-best performance was enough for Desmond to live another day.

“It puts a lot of pressure on you,” Desmond said. “God gives his toughest battles to his toughest soldiers. I go by that saying. If you weren’t capable of doing something spectacular, I don’t feel like you will be put in a position to play a team like Arizona in a semifinal championship like this. And so yeah, man it’s big moments. This is what we live for. We put in the work for this, we deserve to be here and we’re just gonna continue to show that.”

After a dominating performance on Thursday, ASU will match up against rival Arizona in the semifinals. The last time the Sun Devils and Wildcats played in the Pac-12 Tournament was in the quarterfinal round in 2009, where James Harden’s 27 points yielded an ASU win. The contest is scheduled to take place at 9:30 p.m. MST, marking the Sun Devils’ third consecutive late game.

“Yeah, just because we’re used to it,” sophomore forward/guard Jamiya Neal explained about a third consecutive late game. “We already played two games at this time. This is our time.”