SAN DIEGO—Just as Arizona State men’s basketball extended its lead to 12 —part of a ferocious second half run after trailing by seven points at halftime — San Diego State University scored six straight.
The building’s energy was palpable as all 12, 414 fans at Viejas Arena, subdued during most of the second half, were once again screaming.
On the ensuing possession, ASU junior guard Kodi Justice found senior forward Obi Oleka on the left wing. Oleka, calm and collected, stepped into the 3-point shot and knocked it down in the faces of “The Show,” SDSU’s notorious student section. The arena fell silent again as ASU led by nine.
Hurley started Ramon Vila over Oleka in an attempt to “shake something up,” a move that paid off as Oleka had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, and also sank the aforementioned crucial 3-pointer.
“It was really quite a shot of the game,” head coach Bobby Hurley said. “The crowd was getting back into it…Obi stepped into the shot with confidence. I really admire him and how he’s handled this week and the early stages of the season because I know he’s a much better shooter than his numbers suggest…It might have been deflating for them and it was a really positive play for us.”
Added Oleka: “I just felt confident in it.”
After starting the second half on a 13-3 run to take the lead, ASU (6-4) successfully held off SDSU (4-4) late to secure a 74-63 upset road win, handing the Aztecs their first three-game losing streak in 162 games.
ASU’s second-half effort was sparked by its 7-of-14 3-point shooting, which was a huge boost after it made just three shots from behind the arc in the first half.
“We were at a gut-check point in the season for us early just because of the difficulty of our schedule,” Hurley said. “We knew this was like an all-in game for us and for San Diego State. We knew how much this would mean to them based on a couple close losses they’ve had.
“That was a great crowd, I was impressed just to be here in front of that type of environment.”
The Sun Devils started slow on the offensive end, providing shades of the blowout losses to Kentucky and Purdue. SDSU took an early 14-4 lead and had many chances to extend it. However, ASU stayed firm and held its ground.
Hurley has talked multiple times this season about his team’s tendency to let its offensive struggles negatively affect its defensive effort. In the first half of Saturday’s game, ASU shot just 37.5 percent and had 13 turnovers, but trailed by just seven.
“I think we defended for both halves regardless of how we played offense in the first half,” Hurley said. “We weren’t very efficient at that end.
We stayed within striking distance. Then our offense came around and came to life in the second half and that ignited us even more to play on (the defensive) end of the floor, and that was great to see.”
Junior guard Shannon Evans II, who has played in several tough environments like Kentucky’s Rupp Arena, said Viejas Arena was “something special.” Given the circumstances and the type of crowd on hand, Evans noted the team’s seven-point halftime deficit wasn’t bad at all.
Evans had 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting and 4-of-6 from 3-point range to go along with three assists and a rebound. He scored 11 of those points in the second half, nailing three 3-pointers.
He said he tried to answer the call to thwart momentum shifts in the second half.
“In an environment like this, a 3-pointer for them is like six points with their crowd and their fans,” Evans said. “I tried to stop the bleeding.”
Junior guard Tra Holder led ASU with 17 points, also tallying five rebounds and four assists. Senior guard Torian Graham added 15 of his own as the Sun Devils outscored SDSU by 18 points in the second half.
ASU held the Aztecs to 29 percent shooting in the second half and 36.8 percent shooting overall. SDSU also turned the ball over 17 times.
“I feel like we kind of got back to being a blue-collar team, being hungry, being humble and stopped worrying about things other than intensity, defense and playing for each other,” Evans said.
There is perhaps no better example of the blue-collar mentality than ASU’s practices leading up to Saturday’s game.
Hurley said the practices were tough, but Evans expanded on that.
“I don’t know if we shot the ball at all, but we did do a lot of running,” he said. “I felt like we were a track team at one point.”
SDSU had 20 points in the paint in the first half, taking advantage of ASU’s lack of size. However, freshman forward Jethro Tshisumpa aided the cause.
On Saturday, he avoided getting into foul trouble and played 21 quality minutes that included two points, three rebounds and five blocks.
Hurley said Tshisumpa staying on the floor and performing well gives his team the ability to not have to double-team opposing big men in the paint.
“We let Jethro play single with their guys in the post and he stood up to that challenge,” he said. “Also, if there is a breakdown in your defense, it’s nice to have a guy that can clean up your mistakes and alter shots.”
ASU returns to Tempe for a three-game homestand that includes New Mexico State on Dec. 17, No. 10 Creighton on Dec. 20 and Central Arkansas on Dec. 22.
“Hopefully this is a turning point for us,” Hurley said. “Hopefully we found something that we need to move forward with for the rest of the year.”
