Arizona State Rallies in Second Half, Moves to 9-2
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TEMPE -- The Arizona State Sun Devils (9-2) put together a historic second half rally to defeat the Santa Clara Broncos (8-3) on Saturday night in a neutral site contest in Las Vegas by a score of 82-79.
The Sun Devils entered the game as winners of two consecutive games in what has arguably been the best coaching job of Bobby Hurley's career in Tempe to this point, while the Broncos fell to New Mexico earlier this week - yet remain among the strongest programs in the West Coast Conference.
Arizona State's starting five shifted a bit on Saturday, as Anthony "Pig" Johnson slid into the unit in place of Bryce Ford, who was inactive for the game.
Arizona State on SI covers major happenings from the game, key performers, and what's next for the Sun Devils below.
First Half
Santa Clara built up a 17-10 advantage within he first eight minutes of the game before a sequence of trading buckets resulted in the Sun Devils cutting the deficit to 20-17.
Santa Clara took a 26-21 lead heading into the under-eight minute timeout behind a pair of baskets.
The Broncos built up a double-digit lead over the remainder of the first half, largely behind 10 Arizona State turnovers and a 9-15 mark from three-point range.
Hurley was also ejected with 4.3 seconds left in the half after being called for a double technical - the Broncos benefitted by scoring six unanswered points in that time period to take a 55-38 lead going into the half.
Second Half
Arizona State built up some early momentum in the second half - with a Noah Meeusen three-point knockdown, along with a Marcus Adams Jr. and-one aided in shrinking the deficit to 10 at the 12:55 mark of half two.
The incredible surge continues, with a pair of free-throw hits by Johnson narrowed the Broncos lead to three at the halfway point of the second period of action. Arizona State outscored Santa Clara 23-9 to that point of the half.
Adams Jr. hit another massive shot - a corner three-point connection tied the game at 66 with 7:58 remaining in the game.
The Sun Devils officially took their first lead of the game - going up 68-66 approximately 20 second later. A forced turnover just second later resulted in a transition dunk by Massamba Diop to gift the team a 70-66 lead.
The last several minutes of action evened out for both sides - with slower pace and more selective attacking on the offensive side of the ball at the forefront for both sides.
An incredible run of events from Johnson - including a steal and finish at the hoop in transition - lengthened the lead to 80-73.
Late struggles on the offensive side of the ball along with an open three-point look that was ceded brought the advantage back down to 80-79 with just 21 seconds remaining.
A beautiful play-call on an out of bounds play gifted the Sun Devils a basket - the defense held up to win the game behind a 44-24 effort in the 20 minute period.
Key Performances
Moe Odum - 12 PTS, 7 AST, 4 STL, 5-10 FG
Andrija Grbovic - 13 PTS, 2 REB, 2 AST
Massamba Diop - 15 PTS, 9 REB, 1 BLK
What's Next
Arizona State returns to action on Wednesday night when they travel to face former Pac-12 foe UCLA on the road in what is another major opportunity to pick up a quality victory.
Read more on why the Arizona State men's basketball team will exceed expectations in the 2025-26 season here, and on why the bright future of the football program isn’t dimmed by the loss to Arizona here.
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Kevin Hicks is an Arizona State alumni and now serves as the Arizona State Beat Writer On SI.