Arizona State Loses in Heartbreaker Behind UCF's Late Rally
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TEMPE -- The Arizona State Sun Devils (11-10 ,2-6 Big 12) fell in heartbreaking fashion to the UCF Knights (16-4 ,5-3) by a score of 79-76on Tuesday night in Orlando.
The Knights were coming off of a nine-point victory over Colorado, while the Sun Devils defeated Cincinnati by a score of 82-68 on Saturday night.
Follow key happenings from both halves of the game, as well as key performers and what's ahead for the Sun Devils below with ASU on SI.
First Half
Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley opted to start Moe Odum, Bryce Ford, Santiago Trouet, Andrija Grbovic, and Massamba Diop in this contest - the same group that began the season as the starting unit.
UCF got off to a quick 9-2 lead behind much activity in the paint, while Arizona State rebounded with a 12-4 run to take a 14-13 lead at just over the 12 minute mark of the half.
The Knights eventually retook the lead, as they went up 20-14 behind a balanced offensive effort, which was countered once again by the Sun Devils. An Odum three-point knockdown and explosive dunk by Allen Mukeba gifted Arizona State a 24-22 lead at the six minute mark of the half. The Arizona State run extended to 9-0, which gifted the team a 27-22 lead - forcing a UCF timeout at the 5:27 mark.
The Sun Devils went into halftime with an impressive 39-35 lead - the eye-popping offensive performance was headlined by only three turnovers and 10 points from Odum.
Second Half
The start second half continued the back-and-forth nature that followed the entirety of the first half, with the two teams finding themselves tied at 47 prior to the 12:05 mark, where the tie was broken by another Mukeba dunk.
The Sun Devils' advantage once again extended to a game-high five points following a Grbovic three-point knockdown - this development, combined with UCF falling into foul trouble, put ASU up by a score of 52-47 at the under-12 timeout.
The lead extended to a game-high of 10 with 8:26 remaining after Odum hit a pull-up three-point attempt. Arizona State went up 64-53 at the 7:36 mark, in which the under-eight media timeout was levied.
The Knights rallied from down 11 - hitting consecutive three-point attempts to cut the Arizona State lead to 72-67 with 4:28 remaining in the game.
UCF continued the flurry until the final buzzer - several more three-point hits, an unusual Odum turnover, and a missed last opportunity by Ford ensured a loss that will be tough to process in the days ahead.
Key Contributors
- Moe Odum - 18 PTS, 2 REB, 6 AST
- Bryce Ford - 11 PTS, 2 AST, 3-6 3PTFG
- Anthony "Pig" Johnson - 12 PTS, 5 REB, 2 STL
- Massamba Diop - 8 PTS, 6 REB, 4 BLK
What's Next
The Sun Devils are set to return home - as they take on the top-ranked Arizona Wildcats on Saturday afternoon at Desert Financial Arena.
Read more on the bold strategy that head coach Bobby Hurley employed with comments on 1/21 here, and on why Arizona State may have saved the season with the win over Cincinnati on Saturday here..
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Kevin Hicks is an Arizona State alumni and now serves as the Arizona State Beat Writer On SI.