To reach the semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament, ASU basketball had to endure the definition of a ‘game of runs’ in order to outlast UCLA.
Built on momentum frequently wavering between extremes of high and low nature, the city of Las Vegas shares a number of similarities with the game of basketball.
In Wednesday’s 83-72 win over UCLA, Arizona State experienced swings in both directions. At times, the Sun Devils appeared to be playing with house money. In other moments, they resembled a team that doubled down one too many times.
Leading by two late in first half, ASU closed on a 14-0 run.
“We had a couple lapses on defense. It ended with Hands hitting the transition 3 (to) cut it to two,” coach Bobby Hurley said of the sequence of possessions prior to his team’s surge.
“We had to try to regain momentum.”
Sophomore forward Kimani Lawrence began the stretch with a mid-range jump shot. A trio of 3-pointers by guards Luguentz Dort and Rob Edwards extended the lead to double digits before Lawrence brought the crowd in Sin City to its feet.
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Bruins guard Jules Bernard had a last-second shot blocked by Romello White, the ball trickling back to Lawrence. The sophomore briefly lost his handle before gathering himself and heaving a prayer from half court that ripped through the nets in T-Mobile Arena, capping the run and sending both his teammates and the crowd into a frenzy.
“I was trying to get on the break, but then I looked up and I’d seen that there wasn’t a lot of time left,” Lawrence said. “Lu was ahead of me but I fumbled it so I just picked it up and threw it up … I didn’t even look at the rim.”
ASU, a program not regularly among the conference’s contenders, has been plagued by bad notoriety in the Pac-12 Tournament. Early exits coupled by a lack of wins.
And for a period of eight minutes and 43 seconds, that narrative looked as though it would play out once again.
A 3-pointer from Edwards gave ASU a 23-point advantage with 15:37 to go, its largest of the game. After connecting on six of its first eight shots to open the second half, Hurley’s team went cold.
When redshirt senior Zylan Cheatham was credited with a layup — a goaltending call added to a foul — at the 6:54 mark, nearly nine minutes had vanished from the clock and the Bruins trailed by 11.
“When the season is on the line, guys fight back. Guys aren’t just going to sit down and let a game slip by them,” Cheatham said. “You’ve got to keep your foot on people’s necks.”
Hands and sophomore guard Kris Wilkes combined for 29 of their 46 total points after halftime, attempting to resurrect UCLA one final time. Though Bruins interim coach Murry Bartow had the dynamic backcourt at his disposal, it was the balance of ASU that prevailed.
White finished with a team-high 19 points, one of five players to reach double figures. Spreading the wealth has been key for the Sun Devils, who improved to 9-0 when that is achieved.
With the win, ASU moves to 22-9 on the year and awaits either Oregon or Utah in the semifinals.
More importantly, the Sun Devils put themselves in a position to return to the NCAA Tournament in consecutive seasons. Following the game, Hurley was adamant that his program should not have to sweat out its fate on Selection Sunday.
“What uncertainty?” he joked.
All quotes in this article were obtained firsthand by Devils in Detail unless otherwise noted.