Coming back from a 13-point deficit with 11 minutes left to go in the game, No. 11 Arizona State notched a 77-75 victory over Oregon State on Saturday night led by Shannon Evans II who had 22 points (all in the second half), six rebounds and seven assists, all team highs.
"We defended and fought through possessions and to be down 13 with under 12 and to really have a response to that is not easy just based on even what we've been going through in the last ten days or so," said head coach Bobby Hurley. "It was really fun to see the guys come through down the stretch in a tight game and prove that we can win games that way. It was fun to watch."
The Sun Devils (14-3, 2-3 Pac-12) entered today's game with a much-needed win after coming off a loss to Oregon on Thursday night.
Both teams started off slow offensively and neither established a strong lead. Going into the locker rooms at halftime, Oregon State held a 33-34 lead. The lead already changed 10 times at this point.
The good stuff ?? pic.twitter.com/N2PvJGAwU6
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) January 14, 2018
After exchanging buckets to begin the second half, the Beavers started an 11-0 run to take a commanding lead over Arizona State. As the game looked like a potential loss in a conference game, the Devils came storming back from 13 down with an 11-0 run to make it 55-57 with eight minutes left.
SPURTABILITY: ASU has has come back from deficits of at least nine points in six wins. A look at games where ASU has flipped the score and changed deficits.
DEFICIT (TIME/HALF)/FINAL SCORE
Nov. 14: -9 vs. San Diego State (19:22/2nd)/90-68, +31 final 19 minutes
Nov. 23: -9 vs. Kansas State (18:16/2nd)/92-90, +11 final 18 minutes
Nov. 24: -15 vs. #15 Xavier (3:16/first)/102-86, 73 points final 23 minutes
Dec. 10: -13 at #2 Kansas (16:39/first)/95-85, +23 after 15-2 deficit
Dec. 17: -13 vs. Vanderbilt (15:03/first)/76-64 ; +25 after 13-0 deficit
Jan. 13: -13 vs. Oregon State (11:32/second)/57-44; 33-18 final 11:30
"I thought down the stretch that the play that was made was by multiple guys, so you can't really single out one particular player. There were numerous guys making plays down the stretch. You can look at Remy (Martin)'s three-point play, Shannon (Evans) and his deep three, Kodi (Justice)'s great pass to De'Quon (Lake) and the minutes he had, Kimani with his drive to the hoop, so just a lot of great winning plays that were made against a team that was very determined and again effectively went into shot clocks," said Hurley.
SHANNON EVANS II 8 20-POINT GAMES IN 2017-18
22 vs. Oregon State (1/13/18)
22 at Utah (1/7/18)
21 vs. Pacific (12/22/17)
22 at #2 Kansas (12/10/17)
22 vs. #15 Xavier (11/24/17)
22 vs. UC Irvine (11/19/17)
20 vs. Northern Arizona (11/17/17)
25 vs. Idaho State (11/10/17)
Kodi Justice (14), Martin (12) and De'Quon Lake (11) all finished the game with double digits in points to add with Evans' 22 points. ASU's bench outscored Oregon State's bench by 27-7. Arizona State scored 19 points off of the Beavers' 14 turnovers.
The Sun Devils play at Stanford, who is 4-1 in Pac-12 play, on Wednesday, Jan. 17, at 8:00 p.m. PT/9 p.m. MT.
------
ASU NINE-GAME WIN STREAK IN TEMPE OVER OSU
ASU 77, Oregon State 75/Jan. 13, 2018
ASU 86, Oregon State 68/Jan. 28, 2016
ASU 73, Oregon State 55/Jan. 28, 2015
ASU 86, Oregon State 82 (OT)/Feb. 6, 2014
ASU 76, Oregon State 66/Jan. 14, 2012
ASU 80, Oregon State 66/Mar. 5, 2011
ASU 56, Oregon State 46/Feb. 11, 2010
ASU 69, Oregon State 38/Jan. 8, 2009
ASU 72, Oregon State 53/Jan. 5, 2008
-------
HALF: ASU is 14-28 (.333) when trailing at the half under Bobby Hurley, after going 12-64 (.157) the previous five seasons.
14 HALFTIME DEFICIT WINS UNDER COACH HURLEY
(-1) Oregon State 34, ASU 33/Jan. 13, 2018/ASU 77, OSU 75(-1) @Utah 36, ASU 35/Jan. 7, 2018/ASU 80, @Utah 77
(-3) @#2 Kansas 40, ASU 37/Dec. 10, 2017/ASU 95, @KU 85
(-2) #15 Xavier 46, ASU 44/Nov. 24, 2017/ASU 102, #15 Xavier 86
(-2) Kansas State 44, ASU 42/Nov. 23, 2017/ASU 92, KSU 90
(-6) SDSU 40, ASU 34/Nov. 14, 2017/ASU 90, SDSU 68
(-1) USC 48, ASU 47/Feb. 26, 2017/ASU 83, USC 82
(-2) @UW 41, ASU 39/Feb. 16, 2017/ASU 83, @UW 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
-------
SUN DEVIL CAREER STARTS
120, Jeff Pendergraph, 2005-09
119, Ty Abbott, 2007-11
114, Eddie House, 1996-2000
109, Ron Riley, 1992-96
105, Tra Holder, 2014-18
MOST SUN DEVIL BENCH POINTS VS. PAC-12 OPPONENT UNDER BOBBY HURLEY
38 at Stanford (12/30/16)
36 vs. UCLA (2/14/16
31 vs. Washington (1/16/16)
30 at California (1/26/16)
29 at UCLA (1/19/17)
28 vs. Washington State (1/14/16)
27 vs. Oregon State (1/13/18)
26 vs. Arizona (1/3/16)
25 at Washington State (2/6/16)
25 vs. USC (2/12/16)
COACH HURLEY QUOTES
Really a courageous performance by our team and just shows again the resiliency and determination to win. A lot of winners in the locker room and so it's a fun team to go to battle with. I thought down the stretch that the play that were made were by multiple guys, so you cant really single out one particular player. There were numerous guys making plays down the stretch. You can look at Remy (Martin)'s three point play, Shannon and his(Evans) deep three, Cody (Justice)'s great pass to De'Quon (Lake) and the minutes he had, Kimani with his drive to the hoop, so just a lot of great winning plays that were made against a team that was very determined and again effectively went into shot clocks. We defended and fought through possessions and to be down 13 with under 12 and to really have a response to that is not easy just based on even what we've been going through in the last ten days or so. It was really fun to see the guys come through down the stretch in a tight game and prove that we can win games that way. It was fun to watch.
What does it say about the rest of the team to win without Tra (Holder)'s normal production?
Yea I though he (Holder) had some decent looks in the first half and wasn't able to connect. I though he had a few things go against him in terms of contact and losing the ball and not getting a whistle. It was kind of a cumulative thing for Tra that he was dealing with, so the mark of a good team and a winning team is guys stepping up and compensating for him not being at his very best. I think Cody (Justice) said it very well when I was sitting here at the end 'we would never be in the position we were in if it were not for that guy'. In the big games we've been in he's (Holder) been special this year and he'll continue to do that as we move forward, but it was great to see other guys step up and contribute that way and for us to get a great win.
What shifted for Shannon (Evans) in the second half for him to have the performance he did?
We've just got to get it out of our minds that a particular type of defense is going to bother us we have to attack whatever type of defense is put in front of us. I thought in the second half we got a lot more paint touches off the dribble and whether it was a kick out or a challenge at the rim and even when the guards maybe didn't convert the shot, (De'Qoun) Lake was able to get tips because they are coming over to challenge, so we just didn't rely on shooting three point shots. We had those as well, but Shannon was in attack mode and he wasn't going to let us lose. I just felt like his three again reminded me of the shot he hit at Kansas. He made some nice passes in the first half, had a couple of assists, I believe he had six assists and one turnover to go with the 22 points. To get 22 in the second half in a game that was a possession game, not a wide-open game, he was as efficient as you could be.