PULLMAN, Wash. -- Despite holding a 49-43 lead at half, the Arizona State men's basketball team could not overcome a second half surge by host Washington State, falling to the Cougars 86-71, Saturday afternoon at Beasley Coliseum.
Four Sun Devils scored in double-figures as the Maroon and Gold finished the outing shooting 45 percent (27-of-60) from the field and 27.6 percent (8-of-29) from beyond the arc. Pacing the Sun Devil offensive attack was Shannon Evans II who tallied 21 points and three assists. The junior guard has now eclipsed the 20+ point mark nine times this season.
SHANNON EVANS II NINE 20-POINT SCORING GAMES THIS YEAR
28 at #13 Oregon (2/2/17)
28 vs. UNLV (12/3/16)
25 vs. Washington (1/25/17)
23 vs. Central Arkansas (12/22/16)
21 at Washington State (2/18/17)
21 at Oregon State (2/4/17)
21 vs. Utah (1/7/17)
21 vs. Tulane (11/18/16)
20 vs. Cal Poly (11/13/16)
Torian Graham and Obinna Oleka led the Sun Devils on the boards each grabbing five rebounds. Graham, Arizona State's leading scorer on the season (18.5 ppg) finished the outing with 18 points. The Senior has scored in double-figures in three consecutive outings and is averaging 23.7 points in that span.
Head Coach Bobby Hurley was quick to acknowledge the efforts of Evans and Graham, but saw the team's defensive effort as a pitfall in the squad's overall performance, "They were both standouts (Gram and Evans) for us, but unfortunately our defense as a team couldn't function well enough to allow their individual performances to matter a ton."
Oleka and Junior guard Tra Holder also notched double-figure scoring outings, tallying outputs of 12 and 10 points respectively.
The Sun Devils struggled to combat Washington State's length, as the Cougars dominated in the interior, winning the battle on the boards 42-22 while notching 42 points in the paint as opposed to Arizona State's 24. Despite a strong first half showing that saw the Sun Devils score 49 points, en route to a 49-43 lead at the break, Arizona State could not withstand a late offensive onslaught on part of the Cougars. Riding a 23-2 run down the stretch the Cougars rallied to a 86-71 victory.
"We have to get back to the drawing board," said Hurley. We have three home games to finish off the season so let's see if we can finish in a real positive way."
Up next, the Sun Devils will return to Tempe to host the Los Angeles schools, first welcoming No. 5 UCLA on Thursday, Feb. 23. The 7 p.m. MT is set to be televised via ESPN2. Arizona State will then host USC on Sunday, Feb. 26, before concluding the regular versus Arizona on Saturday, Mar. 4 in a CBS game. The Pac-12 Tournament starts on Wednesday, March 8.
Four Sun Devils scored in double-figures as the Maroon and Gold finished the outing shooting 45 percent (27-of-60) from the field and 27.6 percent (8-of-29) from beyond the arc. Pacing the Sun Devil offensive attack was Shannon Evans II who tallied 21 points and three assists. The junior guard has now eclipsed the 20+ point mark nine times this season.
SHANNON EVANS II NINE 20-POINT SCORING GAMES THIS YEAR
28 at #13 Oregon (2/2/17)
28 vs. UNLV (12/3/16)
25 vs. Washington (1/25/17)
23 vs. Central Arkansas (12/22/16)
21 at Washington State (2/18/17)
21 at Oregon State (2/4/17)
21 vs. Utah (1/7/17)
21 vs. Tulane (11/18/16)
20 vs. Cal Poly (11/13/16)
Torian Graham and Obinna Oleka led the Sun Devils on the boards each grabbing five rebounds. Graham, Arizona State's leading scorer on the season (18.5 ppg) finished the outing with 18 points. The Senior has scored in double-figures in three consecutive outings and is averaging 23.7 points in that span.
Head Coach Bobby Hurley was quick to acknowledge the efforts of Evans and Graham, but saw the team's defensive effort as a pitfall in the squad's overall performance, "They were both standouts (Gram and Evans) for us, but unfortunately our defense as a team couldn't function well enough to allow their individual performances to matter a ton."
Oleka and Junior guard Tra Holder also notched double-figure scoring outings, tallying outputs of 12 and 10 points respectively.
The Sun Devils struggled to combat Washington State's length, as the Cougars dominated in the interior, winning the battle on the boards 42-22 while notching 42 points in the paint as opposed to Arizona State's 24. Despite a strong first half showing that saw the Sun Devils score 49 points, en route to a 49-43 lead at the break, Arizona State could not withstand a late offensive onslaught on part of the Cougars. Riding a 23-2 run down the stretch the Cougars rallied to a 86-71 victory.
"We have to get back to the drawing board," said Hurley. We have three home games to finish off the season so let's see if we can finish in a real positive way."
Up next, the Sun Devils will return to Tempe to host the Los Angeles schools, first welcoming No. 5 UCLA on Thursday, Feb. 23. The 7 p.m. MT is set to be televised via ESPN2. Arizona State will then host USC on Sunday, Feb. 26, before concluding the regular versus Arizona on Saturday, Mar. 4 in a CBS game. The Pac-12 Tournament starts on Wednesday, March 8.