ASU Basketball: Looking back at the last two LA road trips
By Trevor Booth
Jan. 19, 2017 – L, 80-102 @ No. 3 UCLA
Of all the talent Steve Alford amassed in Westwood, this team was in a class of its own. Led by professional talent in Lonzo Ball, TJ Leaf and Aaron Holiday, the Bruins ran teams out of the gym on a nightly basis.
This contest was no different. The Bruins built a 28-9 lead in the first seven minutes, locking the Sun Devils in a track meet they couldn’t pace. By halftime, UCLA totaled 54 points, a product of 11 3-pointers and 62 percent shooting.
Despite a 25-point gap, ASU made things interesting. Holder buried a contested layup to cut the Bruin lead to 68-61 with 12:16 to play. However, the Sun Devils couldn’t close the margin further, as the Bruins closed the game with a 34-19 run.
Isaac Hamilton was the game’s top scorer, totaling 33 points with nine 3-pointers. Leaf followed with 19, and Ball contributed 10 points with 12 assists.
For the Sun Devils, Torian Graham scored over 20 points for the seven time, finishing with 26. Holder pitched an all-around effort with 22 points, five assists and four rebounds while Obinna Oleka tallied his 11th double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Jan. 22, 2017 – L, 79-82 @ USC
Three nights later, the Sun Devils faced another NCAA Tournament qualifier. And like Thursday’s contest, a comeback effort proved futile in their 11th defeat of the season.
After going toe-to-toe in the opening minutes, the Trojans opened a 26-14 lead with a 3-pointer from Shaqquan Aaron. Shannon Evans responded, hitting three triples to pull ASU within four in the closing seconds of the first half. However, a Jordan McLaughlin buzzer-beater killed the momentum, putting USC up seven at the break.
Again, the Sun Devils found a spark in the second half. Two 3-pointers from Kodi Justice helped ASU cut the lead to 68-65 with seven minutes remaining. But like UCLA, ‘SC made its run, reconstructing a 14-point advantage to spurn another Devils’ spurt in the waning moments.
The loss dropped ASU to 2-5 in Pac-12 play, extending a season-high of four consecutive defeats. The common denominator was the team’s rebounding, as the Sun Devils gave up 10 offensive rebounds for 14 second chance points.
The Trojans’ ‘big three’ of Chimezie Metu, Jordan McLaughlin and Elijah Stewart combined for 54 points and 12 assists. Jonah Mathews contributed 14 points in Bennie Boatwright‘s absence.
ASU was again led by Graham, who tallied 24 points and four rebounds. Oleka pulled down another double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Evans and Holder each added 14 points.