ASU Basketball concluded its three-game road trip with a 82-79 loss to USC. The Sun Devils were swept, suffering additional losses to UCLA and Arizona.
The Arizona State Sun Devils (9-11, 2-5) couldn’t complete a late rally against the the USC Trojans (16-4, 4-4) and dropped their fourth straight game after a 2-1 start to Pac-12 play.
Trailing by 14 with 3:13 remaining, ASU used a 12-1 run to cut the deficit to three but Torian Graham’s potential game-tying shot from the corner lipped out. Graham finished with 24 points, his eighth 20-point game of the season.
Junior guard Elijah Stewart led USC with 29 points and matched a career-high with seven made threes. The Trojans took advantage of inconsistent perimeter defense, hitting 14 shots from deep at a 52 percent clip.
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Over the past two contests, Bobby Hurley’s team has struggled to defend the deep ball, allowing 30 combined threes to UCLA and USC. Through seven games, the Sun Devils allow the most points per game in the Pac-12.
The bright spot for ASU tonight was big man Obinna Oleka. The senior recorded his tenth double-double in a 17-point, 14 rebound effort. Oleka shot an efficient 6-of-10 from the floor and was second in scoring behind Graham.
One question that many Sun Devil fans will be asking themselves after this game is where were Ramon Vila and Jethro Tshisumpa. While Hurley has praised the growth of both players, Vila received nine minutes and Tshiumpa played three tonight despite ASU playing with seven scholarship players.
ASU won the battle on the glass 30-29 but lacked an inside presence defensively, a facet of Tshisumpa’s game that has benefitted the team on previous occasions.
Throughout the season, the Sun Devils have repeatedly shown that they can compete in the conference with a reputation for not giving up after falling behind early. The trend continued at the Galen Center as they overcame deficits of 12 and 14 but couldn’t get back in front.
Now on a four-game skid, ASU returns home to face Washington and Washington State. The team has not played at Wells Fargo Arena since a 88-82 loss to Utah on Jan. 7.
Next: ASU MBB: Bruins Run Away From the Sun Devils Late
The Sun Devils will play Washington on Jan. 25 at 9 p.m. MST and the game can be seen on ESPNU.