TEMPE, Ariz. – Just over 12 months ago, Arizona State went into Viejas Arena in San Diego and turned a seven-point halftime deficit into a double-digit road victory.
A little bit of history repeated itself Tuesday as the Sun Devils (2-0) were able to erase a similar halftime lead and cruise to an impressive 90-68 victory over visiting San Diego State.
"It was a great learning experience to come back from adversity against a good team like that," said head coach Bobby Hurley after the win. "In the locker room (at halftime), we challenged the guys to play better, make better decisions on offense and shoot with confidence. And they did just that."
Early on in this one, it was a strong commitment to defense that allowed the home team to create some initial separation.
After trailing 11-10 early, Arizona State used a 14-3 run to grab a double digit lead halfway through the opening half. The run was spurred on by four blocks in a three-minute span, rallying a rowdy Wells Fargo Arena crowd to its feet.
Two of those blocks came via transfer De'Quon Lake, who followed up a monster game in the season opener with 15 points and seven rebounds against the Aztecs (1-1).
"We made some real effort plays on defense that ignited what we wanted to do," Hurley said. "It was nice to see De'Quon come in off the bench and continue where he left off with the blocks and finishes. He came in and did very well."
NINE HALFTIME DEFICIT WINS UNDER COACH HURLEY (-6) San Diego State 40, ASU 34-Nov. 14, 2017/ASU 90, San Diego State 68 (-1) USC 48, ASU 47-Feb. 26, 2017/ASU 83, USC 82 (-2) @Washington 41, ASU 39-Feb. 16, 2017/ASU 83, @Washington 81 (-1) Stanford 33, ASU 32-Feb. 11, 2017/ASU 75, Stanford 69 (-7) @SDSU 32, ASU 25-Dec. 10, 2016/ASU 74, @SDSU 63 (-3) #23 USC 30, ASU 27-Feb. 12, 2016/ASU 74, USC 67 (-12) @UNLV 37, ASU 25-Dec. 16, 2015/ASU 66, @UNLV 56 (-8) @Creighton 41, ASU 33-Dec. 2, 2015/ASU 79, @Creighton 77 (-2) UCSB 29, ASU 27-Nov. 29, 2015/ASU 70, UCSB 68
The rest of the half was played fairly even, with the visitors from San Diego ultimately taking a 40-34 advantage into the locker rooms. It was in that locker room where the Sun Devils came together, fine-tuning the defensive game plan that would allow their record to stay perfect.
The team came out in attack mode on both ends of the floor, using a quick 11-5 binge to tie the game with 17:17 remaining. The next trip down the floor saw guard Shannon Evans II bury a step-back three-pointer, giving Arizona State a 48-47 lead that it would never relinquish.
From that point on it was all Sun Devils as a stingy and frantic defensive effort made life miserable for San Diego State's offense. A pair of free throws from Evans pushed the lead to double digits with 12 minutes to play, a mini 3-0 run by Romello White made the score 72-52 four minutes later and the margin hovered around there before the final buzzer ultimately sounded on the 22-point win.
While the defense gave Arizona State some momentum, the ability to knock down open shots on the other end of the floor allowed the team to cruise. The team finished the second half shooting 66.7 percent from the field in addition to making 10-of-11 attempts from the charity stripe.
The 90 points scored by the Sun Devils was the most the Aztecs have given up in regulation since February of 2006, when the team fell 100-90 at BYU.
"We have so many different options on any given night," said senior guard Tra Holder. "We knew we were getting open looks that we could hit. We just had to make them."
All told, Arizona State finished the game with five in double figures. Holder tallied 24 points to go along with a game-leading four three-pointers, while White finished his first-career contest with a monster 16 points and 15 rebounds.
The aforementioned Lake totaled 15 points, with Evans (14) and freshman guard Remy Martin (12) following not far behind.
The victory allowed Hurley's team to stay blemish-free through two games, a streak it will look to continue on Friday night against in-state foe Northern Arizona.
Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena, and those not in attendance can view the game on the Pac-12 Networks.
A little bit of history repeated itself Tuesday as the Sun Devils (2-0) were able to erase a similar halftime lead and cruise to an impressive 90-68 victory over visiting San Diego State.
"It was a great learning experience to come back from adversity against a good team like that," said head coach Bobby Hurley after the win. "In the locker room (at halftime), we challenged the guys to play better, make better decisions on offense and shoot with confidence. And they did just that."
Early on in this one, it was a strong commitment to defense that allowed the home team to create some initial separation.
After trailing 11-10 early, Arizona State used a 14-3 run to grab a double digit lead halfway through the opening half. The run was spurred on by four blocks in a three-minute span, rallying a rowdy Wells Fargo Arena crowd to its feet.
Two of those blocks came via transfer De'Quon Lake, who followed up a monster game in the season opener with 15 points and seven rebounds against the Aztecs (1-1).
H2 | Ball Movement 101 (ft. a De'Quon Dunk) ?? pic.twitter.com/WuWpml67UG
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) November 15, 2017
"We made some real effort plays on defense that ignited what we wanted to do," Hurley said. "It was nice to see De'Quon come in off the bench and continue where he left off with the blocks and finishes. He came in and did very well."
NINE HALFTIME DEFICIT WINS UNDER COACH HURLEY (-6) San Diego State 40, ASU 34-Nov. 14, 2017/ASU 90, San Diego State 68 (-1) USC 48, ASU 47-Feb. 26, 2017/ASU 83, USC 82 (-2) @Washington 41, ASU 39-Feb. 16, 2017/ASU 83, @Washington 81 (-1) Stanford 33, ASU 32-Feb. 11, 2017/ASU 75, Stanford 69 (-7) @SDSU 32, ASU 25-Dec. 10, 2016/ASU 74, @SDSU 63 (-3) #23 USC 30, ASU 27-Feb. 12, 2016/ASU 74, USC 67 (-12) @UNLV 37, ASU 25-Dec. 16, 2015/ASU 66, @UNLV 56 (-8) @Creighton 41, ASU 33-Dec. 2, 2015/ASU 79, @Creighton 77 (-2) UCSB 29, ASU 27-Nov. 29, 2015/ASU 70, UCSB 68
The rest of the half was played fairly even, with the visitors from San Diego ultimately taking a 40-34 advantage into the locker rooms. It was in that locker room where the Sun Devils came together, fine-tuning the defensive game plan that would allow their record to stay perfect.
The team came out in attack mode on both ends of the floor, using a quick 11-5 binge to tie the game with 17:17 remaining. The next trip down the floor saw guard Shannon Evans II bury a step-back three-pointer, giving Arizona State a 48-47 lead that it would never relinquish.
H2 | You can try and stop him (but you probably won't)@hollywood_XI scores SEVEN-straight points to give the #Devils the lead! pic.twitter.com/suSEtApBWh
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) November 15, 2017
From that point on it was all Sun Devils as a stingy and frantic defensive effort made life miserable for San Diego State's offense. A pair of free throws from Evans pushed the lead to double digits with 12 minutes to play, a mini 3-0 run by Romello White made the score 72-52 four minutes later and the margin hovered around there before the final buzzer ultimately sounded on the 22-point win.
While the defense gave Arizona State some momentum, the ability to knock down open shots on the other end of the floor allowed the team to cruise. The team finished the second half shooting 66.7 percent from the field in addition to making 10-of-11 attempts from the charity stripe.
The 90 points scored by the Sun Devils was the most the Aztecs have given up in regulation since February of 2006, when the team fell 100-90 at BYU.
"We have so many different options on any given night," said senior guard Tra Holder. "We knew we were getting open looks that we could hit. We just had to make them."
All told, Arizona State finished the game with five in double figures. Holder tallied 24 points to go along with a game-leading four three-pointers, while White finished his first-career contest with a monster 16 points and 15 rebounds.
The aforementioned Lake totaled 15 points, with Evans (14) and freshman guard Remy Martin (12) following not far behind.
The victory allowed Hurley's team to stay blemish-free through two games, a streak it will look to continue on Friday night against in-state foe Northern Arizona.
Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena, and those not in attendance can view the game on the Pac-12 Networks.