Arizona State pulls away from Utah late for much-needed bounceback win
Arizona State had its back against the wall at home on Saturday. With Utah coming to town, the No. 4 spot in the Pac-12 was on the line. For the Sun Devils, a potential at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament wouldn’t be secured with a win over the Runnin’ Utes, but it would probably be put out of reach with a loss.
Warren Washington had a monster performance, the Cambridge brothers combined for 29 points, and Arizona State bounced back from Thursday’s loss with a much-needed 67-59 win over Utah.
Arizona State went into the half trailing 26-25, then outscored the Utes by nine in the second half. Doing so handed Utah its first loss of the season after leading at halftime. (The Utes entered the day 17-0.)
The 42-point explosion in the second half was fueled by Washington doing damage inside. The 7-footer scored 14 of his game-high 18 points in the final 20 minutes, connecting on six of his seven shots.
Arizona State didn’t have the 3-ball working on Saturday, making just three of its 15 attempts. But it went inside with tremendous success. Without falling too in love with chucking to break the lid on the rim, ASU hammered the paint, outscoring the Utes 40-30 inside. In the final 20 minutes, ASU was 15-for-23 inside the arc.
Despite the hot shooting, Utah had its chances.
The Runnin’ Utes led for most of the second half and for 19 total minutes in the game. ASU played just 13 minutes with a lead. Utah had a seven-point lead with just under three minutes to play in the first half, and it held a four-point lead with five to play in the second half.
But after struggling to close out both halves in Thursday’s loss to Colorado, the Sun Devils made amends on Saturday.
A 6-0 run over the final 2:21 of the first half gave ASU momentum to take into the locker room. Washington — a 63% free throw shooter on the season — knocked down a pair with six seconds remaining to bring his team within one.
And, after keeping within striking distance for much of the second half, ASU closed on a 12-2 run to win.
A triple from Desmond Cambridge Jr. — who finished with 15 on another rough shooting night — gave the Sun Devils a 58-57 lead with two minutes to play. It was their first lead since the opening minute of the second half.
@dezcambridgejr nails a massive three to give ASU the lead.
Sun Devils currently on top 58-57. 1:57 remain.@DevilsDigest pic.twitter.com/aJESPm6enW
— Nick Borgia (@Nick_Borgia) February 19, 2023
And it put ASU on top for good.
A jumper from Utah’s Lazar Stefanovic made it 60-59 with 1:16 remaining. Devan Cambridge (14 points) hit the dagger 3 on the following possession to seal it with 48 seconds remaining. ASU hit its free throws and walked off with the win.
Utah finished at 38% shooting for the game. ASU defended the 3-point line well, giving up only six makes on 25 attempts (24%). Stefanovic, Marco Anthony, and Branden Carlson each had 12 to lead the Utes in scoring.
Arizona State (19-9, 10-7 Pac-12) gets an extended break before traveling to Tucson for what will be a very important showdown with No. 8 Arizona. Tip-off is next Saturday at 11 a.m. PT on CBS.
Utah (17-11, 10-7 Pac-12) hosts No. 4 UCLA next Thursday at 8 p.m. PT on FS1.