LAS VEGAS – Despite a game-high 20 points from senior guard Gerry Blakes, the Arizona State men’s basketball team was unable to extend its season, falling to Oregon State, 75-66, in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament.
Junior forward Savon Goodman (14 points), senior center Eric Jacobsen (11 points) and sophomore guard Tra Holder (10 points) also scored in double figures for the Sun Devils (15-17), who shot 36 percent for the game.
Freshman guard Stephen Thompson Jr. (13 points) led the Beavers (19-11), who scored more than a third of their points from the charity stripe, where they shot 81 percent (26-35).
The Sun Devils found themselves battling uphill the entire game, as the Beavers scored 15 of the game’s first 19 points to take a 15-4 lead, after Jarmal Reid’s layup with 11:46 left in the first half.
A 3-pointer by Blakes cut the Beavers’ lead to 17-10, but Derrick Bruce came back with a triple on OSU’s ensuing possession, to once again give the Beavers a double-digit advantage 20-10.
After Bruce’s 3-pointer, ASU started to clamp down on the defensive end, as the Beavers failed to make any fields goals over the next seven-plus minutes.
Obinna Oleka’s free throw got the Sun Devils within five points, 22-17, with 4:31 remaining. Little did they know it at the time, but that is as close as the Sun Devils would get the remainder of the game.
During their cold spell from the floor, the Beavers were able to hit six free throws to hold the Sun Devils at bay. A jumper by Reid with four seconds left gave the Beavers a nine-point lead at the half.
For all that had gone against them in the first half – shooting 27 percent from the floor, including 1-for-11 from beyond the arc, and committing eight turnovers – the Sun Devils were still very much in the game. A 3-pointer by Oleka on ASU’s first possession of the second half suddenly had the Sun Devils within two possessions, 32-26.
Thompson Jr’s 3-pointer on the opposite end once again put the Beavers up by nine. After Blakes responded with a layup, OSU’s Malcolm Duvivier sunk another 3-pointer to push the Beavers’ lead to 10. Duvivier’s basket was the start of a 7-0 run that eventually put the Beavers up by 14.
The Sun Devils would not go down without a fight. Jacobsen’s 3-point play with 10:46 left once again had the Sun Devils within seven, 49-42.
The Beavers would answer with a 9-0 run to take their largest lead, 61-45, with under five minutes left.
The Sun Devils would make one final push. Triples from Kodi Justice and Blakes, along with back-to-back layups by Holder, were part of a scoring burst that once again got ASU within seven, 67-60, with 1:33 remaining. The Sun Devils would pull no closer, however, as the Beavers would push their lead back up to 10 in the final minute.
ASU would end up with a plus-two advantage on the boards (39-37). Blakes, Jacobsen and Oleka tied for the team lead with eight rebounds each. Holder paced ASU with a game-high seven assists.
Blakes scored 13 of his points in the second half to post the seventh 20-point game of his career.