In an emotional senior day in a packed Wells Fargo Arena, ASU fell to No. 7 Arizona, 73-60, on Saturday afternoon.
Arizona (27-4, 16-2) staked a five-point lead early on and held a steady lead during the first frame, grabbing a nine-point lead with just under 10 minutes left in the half. Arizona State (14-17, 7-11) slowly chipped away led primarily by junior Kodi Justice (17 points), and seniors Torian Graham (15 points) and Obinna Oleka, who added nine and grabbed 11 boards. Justice has been on a roll as of late, averaging 19.3 points on 15-of-24 (.625) three-point shooting in the past three games.
"The objective has always -- especially in these kind of games means that mean so much to a lot of different people -- is to try and win them. We didn't win so that's always going to be disappointing," said Coach Bobby Hurley. "I feel for Obi and Torian, it's their last game and we wanted to try and send them out on a high note with a great win versus a good opponent.
"I thought we were in the game in the first half. Our defense was fairly consistently good throughout the entire game, minus some break downs to start second half. I thought we could have possibly had a lead at the first half if we had executed some free throw shooting and made a few extra shots because we were getting stops and we just couldn't get over the hump to get a little cushion going into the second half. But overall, we fought hard. The offense rebounds, that hurt us in the second half. It's been a problem with our size. But hey...Arizona got the record they have because they are well coached, and they guard well consistently. We just didn't have a great night with that end (offensive) on the floor, and Arizona had a lot to do with that."
PAC-12 MOST THREE-POINTERS
350, Oregon, 2006-07
305, Washington, 2010-11
304, Oregon, 2001-02
309, Arizona State, 2016-17
296, Arizona, 2010-11
PAC-12 MOST 3-POINT FIELD GOALS IN A SEASON
120, Salim Stoudamire, ARIZ, 2005
114, Steve Kerr, ARIZ, 1988
113, Stevin Smith, ASU, 1993
112, Damon Stoudamire, ARIZ, 1995
110, Tajuan Porter, ORE, 2007
106, Jason Gardner, ARIZ, 2002
104, Bryce Alford, UCLA, 2017
98, Torian Graham, ASU, 2017
98, Klay Thompson, WSU, 2011
98, Gabe York, ARIZ, 2016
Rebounds were the deciding factor in the game, as the last time the two teams met, the Sun Devils were outrebounded by a tune of 38-22. ASU was aggressive under the basket in the first half, racking up 17 boards to Arizona's 22, but it turned in the second as Arizona outrebounded 50-27 on the day.
The Devils secured the lead, 26-25, with three minutes left in the first frame off a three-pointer senior Torian Graham, forcing Arizona to call a timeout.
Justice and Oleka would tack on two more through a layup and free throw, however, the Cats put up three in the final minute of the first half to go into the break leading by one.
Quickly pulling away to begin the second period of play, Arizona exploded to score 10-straight, snatching a 40-29 lead. While the Maroon and Gold kept up with the significantly larger Wildcats in the first half in terms of boards, Arizona largely dominated the second half.
Graham's 10 points in the second frame were a bright spot for ASU, as the senior went a perfect 4-for-4 from behind the line and put up two three-pointers. He was followed closely behind by Justice and his nine second-half points.
Putting up 43 in the final 20 minutes, the size of Arizona proved to be too much for the Sun Devils as they took a commanding 64-49 lead with just under five minutes left to play.
MINUTE(S)MEN: Tra Holder led the Pac-12 in minutes per game in conference games at 37.9, but not far behind him are two other Sun Devils: Shannon Evans II (36.7) and Torian Graham (36.6). It doesn't drop off much from there, with Kodi Justice averaging 33.8 and Obi Oleka 33.4. In the past 18 seasons, the Holder-Evans II-Graham trio rank in the Sun Devil top-10 for minutes per game in Pac-12 tilts.
MINUTES PER GAME (PAC-10/12 GAMES) 1999-2000 TO PRESENT (PAST 18 SEASONS)
39.3, Eddie House, 1999-2000
39.2, Kevin Kruger, 2005-06
38.3, Jahii Carson, 2012-13
37.9, Tra Holder, 2016-17
37.8, Ike DIogu, 2004-05
37.7, Carrick Felix, 2012-13
37.5, James Harden, 2008-09
37.2, Ike Diogu, 2003-04
36.7, Shannon Evans II, 2016-17
36.6, Torian Graham, 2016-17
SUN DEVIL CAREER POINTS
1. Eddie House, 1996-2000/2,044
22. Dennis Dairman, 1962-65/1,220
23. Tra Holder, 2015-present/1,191
MOST REBOUNDS IN TWO-YEAR SUN DEVIL CAREER
1. Paul Stovall, 1970-72/647
2. Jerry Hahn, 1960-62/553
3. Bobby Lazor, 1997-99/512
4. Obi Oleka, 2015-17/498
Arizona (27-4, 16-2) staked a five-point lead early on and held a steady lead during the first frame, grabbing a nine-point lead with just under 10 minutes left in the half. Arizona State (14-17, 7-11) slowly chipped away led primarily by junior Kodi Justice (17 points), and seniors Torian Graham (15 points) and Obinna Oleka, who added nine and grabbed 11 boards. Justice has been on a roll as of late, averaging 19.3 points on 15-of-24 (.625) three-point shooting in the past three games.
"The objective has always -- especially in these kind of games means that mean so much to a lot of different people -- is to try and win them. We didn't win so that's always going to be disappointing," said Coach Bobby Hurley. "I feel for Obi and Torian, it's their last game and we wanted to try and send them out on a high note with a great win versus a good opponent.
"I thought we were in the game in the first half. Our defense was fairly consistently good throughout the entire game, minus some break downs to start second half. I thought we could have possibly had a lead at the first half if we had executed some free throw shooting and made a few extra shots because we were getting stops and we just couldn't get over the hump to get a little cushion going into the second half. But overall, we fought hard. The offense rebounds, that hurt us in the second half. It's been a problem with our size. But hey...Arizona got the record they have because they are well coached, and they guard well consistently. We just didn't have a great night with that end (offensive) on the floor, and Arizona had a lot to do with that."
PAC-12 MOST THREE-POINTERS
350, Oregon, 2006-07
305, Washington, 2010-11
304, Oregon, 2001-02
309, Arizona State, 2016-17
296, Arizona, 2010-11
PAC-12 MOST 3-POINT FIELD GOALS IN A SEASON
120, Salim Stoudamire, ARIZ, 2005
114, Steve Kerr, ARIZ, 1988
113, Stevin Smith, ASU, 1993
112, Damon Stoudamire, ARIZ, 1995
110, Tajuan Porter, ORE, 2007
106, Jason Gardner, ARIZ, 2002
104, Bryce Alford, UCLA, 2017
98, Torian Graham, ASU, 2017
98, Klay Thompson, WSU, 2011
98, Gabe York, ARIZ, 2016
Rebounds were the deciding factor in the game, as the last time the two teams met, the Sun Devils were outrebounded by a tune of 38-22. ASU was aggressive under the basket in the first half, racking up 17 boards to Arizona's 22, but it turned in the second as Arizona outrebounded 50-27 on the day.
The Devils secured the lead, 26-25, with three minutes left in the first frame off a three-pointer senior Torian Graham, forcing Arizona to call a timeout.
Justice and Oleka would tack on two more through a layup and free throw, however, the Cats put up three in the final minute of the first half to go into the break leading by one.
Quickly pulling away to begin the second period of play, Arizona exploded to score 10-straight, snatching a 40-29 lead. While the Maroon and Gold kept up with the significantly larger Wildcats in the first half in terms of boards, Arizona largely dominated the second half.
Graham's 10 points in the second frame were a bright spot for ASU, as the senior went a perfect 4-for-4 from behind the line and put up two three-pointers. He was followed closely behind by Justice and his nine second-half points.
Putting up 43 in the final 20 minutes, the size of Arizona proved to be too much for the Sun Devils as they took a commanding 64-49 lead with just under five minutes left to play.
MINUTE(S)MEN: Tra Holder led the Pac-12 in minutes per game in conference games at 37.9, but not far behind him are two other Sun Devils: Shannon Evans II (36.7) and Torian Graham (36.6). It doesn't drop off much from there, with Kodi Justice averaging 33.8 and Obi Oleka 33.4. In the past 18 seasons, the Holder-Evans II-Graham trio rank in the Sun Devil top-10 for minutes per game in Pac-12 tilts.
MINUTES PER GAME (PAC-10/12 GAMES) 1999-2000 TO PRESENT (PAST 18 SEASONS)
39.3, Eddie House, 1999-2000
39.2, Kevin Kruger, 2005-06
38.3, Jahii Carson, 2012-13
37.9, Tra Holder, 2016-17
37.8, Ike DIogu, 2004-05
37.7, Carrick Felix, 2012-13
37.5, James Harden, 2008-09
37.2, Ike Diogu, 2003-04
36.7, Shannon Evans II, 2016-17
36.6, Torian Graham, 2016-17
SUN DEVIL CAREER POINTS
1. Eddie House, 1996-2000/2,044
22. Dennis Dairman, 1962-65/1,220
23. Tra Holder, 2015-present/1,191
MOST REBOUNDS IN TWO-YEAR SUN DEVIL CAREER
1. Paul Stovall, 1970-72/647
2. Jerry Hahn, 1960-62/553
3. Bobby Lazor, 1997-99/512
4. Obi Oleka, 2015-17/498