Recap: Sun Devils Defeat Oregon State for Third Straight Pac-12 Win
The Arizona State Sun Devils are hitting their stride at just the right time.
The Sun Devils took down Oregon State 73-53 on Saturday night in Tempe to secure their third straight conference win. That's the longest streak they've had since the Pac-12 season started and marks an impressive home stand with wins over both Oregon schools.
Surely, beating the Beavers (3-22, 1-14 Pac-12) isn't a season-defining win, but two straight 20-plus point victories could sure do it.
"It's been a good feeling to," said head coach Bobby Hurley. "Just about every game outside of these two have been; you got to coach every possession."
And its a pair of dominant Pac-12 wins that now have Arizona State at 10-15 (6-9 Pac-12) on the season.
"Now we really know how to play with each other," guard Jay Heath said. "Everybody is playing well, so I just feel like we are peaking at the right time, going into Pac-12 play.
"It's just fun, winning is fun."
Starters:
G DJ Horne
G Jay Heath
F Jalen Graham
F Kimani Lawrence
F Alonzo Gaffney
First-Half Recap
The Sun Devils came out with guns blazing in the opening minutes. And for the most part it worked. Arizona State built a quick 10-2 lead and capitalized on five early turnovers by the Beavers.
The bad that went with the positives was four missed three-point attempts after Heath nailed his first three-pointer. The Sun Devils offense came to a halt once it started settling for threes.
Heading into the first media timeout, ASU had built a solid 16-9 lead and Heath (five points) and Kimani Lawrence (four) were each cooking from the field.
And just like against Oregon on Thursday night, the Sun Devils offense refused to let up. Arizona State continued its hot shooting to take a commanding 29-13 lead with just under eight and half minutes left in the first half.
Capping off an 8-0 run was Lawrence, who was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field with a game-high nine points. That forced the hand of Beavers head coach Wayne Tinkle, who called a timeout to try and settle his team.
Oregon State's problems stemmed from having 10 turnovers, which had already amounted to 15 Sun Devils points.
And while the Beavers started to clean up their sloppy play, Arizona State refused to cut its bad habit of chucking up threes on nearly every possession.
That gave Oregon State just the lifeline it needed as it cut the lead to 33-24 with just under four minutes left. The Sun Devils offense went ice cold as they were shooting a poor 16.6% (2-for-12) from 3-point range.
The Beavers got as close to within six after going on an 8-0 run. That was just the jolt to reality that ASU needed as it shifted into a new gear on offense.
The Sun Devils responded with their own 6-0 run and pushed the lead back to double figures. It would hold to the halftime buzzer as Horne nailed a 3-pointer to close the half. Arizona State was back in control with a 42-29 lead.
Besides a poor half of shooting from beyond the arc (3-for-14), there was a lot of good from the Sun Devils offense. Lawrence was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and led all scorers with 11 points. Also chipping in was Heath (nine points) and Horne (seven).
Second-Half Recap
ASU matched its start to the game with a strong opening in the second half. The Sun Devils rattled off a quick 5-0 run to push the lead to the biggest of the night at 47-29. That again prompted Oregon State to burn another timeout.
It was at this point that the Beavers had the same amount of made field goals as turnovers at 14 apiece.
And just as Oregon State was losing its groove, Graham was finding his for Arizona State. After a quiet opening half, Graham looked to find his shooting touch sometime during the halftime break.
"We rolled the dice with him going out there with two fouls," said Hurley on a slow first half from Graham. "But I think that was more to do with it than anything else."
The forward pushed the Sun Devils' lead to 20 after his second basket of the second half. He helped the team go up 57-37 after increasing his game total to 10 points with a pair of free throws.
That also marked Graham's fourth straight game scoring in double figures this season.
And as the lead ballooned so did the number of turnovers continue to grow for the Beavers. With 6:33 left in the game, Oregon State had totaled 18 turnovers. That, along with a 2-for-17 clip from 3-point range, had essentially sunk the game for the visitors.
Arizona State slowed up in the final five minutes, but never let the game get within striking distance for the Beavers.
It was an especially strong final stretch from Marreon Jackson. A pair of late threes sealed a dominant win for the Sun Devils. Jackson finished with a team-high 15 points as ASU pulled away with a 73-53 victory.
Stat Leaders
Points: Jackson (15)
Assists: Horne (6)
Rebounds: Lawrence (7)
What's Next
ASU has a quick turnaround as it hits the road for a rematch with UCLA. The 13th-ranked Bruins have won two of their last three since being upset by the Sun Devils earlier this month. The teams meet on Monday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. Arizona time on Fox Sports 1.