TEMPE, AZ. – The Arizona State men’s basketball team (11-7; 1-4) lost an exciting 89-85 game Saturday night at Wells Fargo Arena.
Despite trailing by 10 at the half, the Sun Devils refused to go away down the stretch, trimming the Huskies lead to just three on a 10-3 run, 83-80 with 38 ticks remaining. Bobby Hurley’s squad would claw within two courtesy of a Willie Atwood three with eight seconds left, before Washington’s Andrew Andrews would cap off a Huskies win at the foul line.
The Sun Devils battled tough the duration of the game, but were unable to capitalize on 25 Husky fouls going 55.2 percent (16-29) from the charity stripe, uncharacteristic of a team who entered the contest second in the Pac-12 in free throw percentage.
Arizona State finished 44.8 percent (30-67) from the field, while going 36 percent (9-25) from beyond the arc. Playing the Huskies tight to the final buzzer, the Sun Devils had six players finish in double-digits.
Sophomore guard Kodi Justice finished with a team-high 17 points.
KODI JUSTICE TOP SCORING GAMES
20 vs. Houston Baptist (12/19/15)
17 vs. Washington (1/16/16)
16 vs. Washington State (1/14/16)
16 at California (1/22/15)
Obinna Oleka recoded his second-consecutive double-double, third of the season, netting 13 while grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds. Savon Goodman also finished in double-digits in both the points and rebounds category, posted 10 and 10.
OBINNA OLEKA DOUBLE-DOUBLES (3)
13/11 vs. Washington (1/16/16)
11/10 vs. Washington State (1/14/16)
10/14 vs. Marquette (11/24/15)
Gerry Blakes and Willie Atwood each added 12 points respectively, while Tra Holder who recorded 20+ points in his previous four outings, finished with 11.
The Huskies were led by their senior guard and Pac-12 leading scorer Andrews, who posted a game-highs in both points (30) and assists (12).
Washington, who would never trail, had the Sun Devils number out of the gate opening on a 9-0 run. The Sun Devils would rally back to a tie, 18-18 at 11:41, courtesy of a 9-2 run. From then on, until the end of the period, the Huskies would move out to as much as 11-point lead, before entering recess with a 44-34 advantage.
The Sun Devils, a bunch who have proven time and time again you can never count them out, would recover in the second half, moving to within three 56-53 at the 13:29 mark. The Sun Devils would hold strong and remain in contention late, cutting the Huskies lead to just two, three times over the final ten minutes. Despite Arizona State’s effort, the Huskies showed resolve, making their final four three-point attempts.
UP NEXT: The Sun Devils travel to the Bay Area to take on 12-6 California Golden Bears on Thursday, Jan. 21, at 6 p.m. PT. The game will be televised nationally on Fox Sports 1.
Arizona State has won the past two at Haas Pavilion and five straight overall vs. the Golden Bears. ASU's 35-point 79-44 win Jan. 22 at Cal is its biggest Pac-12 win since it beat Washington State by 41 (96-55) on Jan. 11, 2003, and the second-largest Pac-12 road win in school history, as it dealt the Golden Bears their second-largest home loss.
NOTES...
--ASU placed six players in double digits for the first time since Jan. 15, 2005 when it lost to USC 98-94. Serge Angounou (20), Kevin Kruger (17), Ike Diogu (15), Jason Braxton (10), Kevin Krueger (10) and Tim Pierce (10) all had double digits in the loss.
--ASU scored 51 points in the second half, the most in any half this year.
--Washington had Sun Devil opponent highs for field goals made and attempted (34-of-65) and assists (21). UCSB also had 21 assists
--Savon Goodman has his ninth double-double of his career and his fourth on the year.
SAVON GOODMAN DOUBLE-DOUBLES IN 2015-16
10/10 vs. Washington (1/16/16)
10/12 vs. #18 Texas A&M (12/5/15)
21/16 vs. North Carolina State (11/23/15)
12/13 vs. Belmont (11/16/15)
--Willie Atwood posted his 12th game in double-digits on the year after having just three all of last season.