With about five minutes remaining in the halftime break, St. Mary’s guard Jordan Ford emerged from the locker room. He walked alone. His head was up and his hands were by his side. He strolled with the swagger of Kanye West and the serenity of a monk.

On this night, no one was going to stop him. There was nothing he couldn’t do -- he could make it rain in the Sahara if he so pleased. Only thing was, he had to play another 20 minutes, another 20 minutes that no one needed, or wanted, to see.

The stats that spawned within that 20 minutes were so bizarre it became comical. The only thing that seemed to be worth watching for was what extraordinary numbers can this game, or player, reach? On Wednesday night, that was the game within the game -- and the only worthwhile one for ASU (8-3).

At the end of it all, some of the figures ASU and St. Mary’s produced were ludicrous.

Ford scored 22 first-half points. He made his first eight shots, including five triples. At one point in the first half, St. Mary’s had scored 20 straight points. By the end of the period, the Gaels were up 32 -- and just three players had scored for ASU.

The more intriguing storyline? At the end of the first half, Jordan Ford (22) had more points than Arizona State (19). Now that’s crazy.

When the game concluded, Ford finished with 34 points -- almost 15 more than his season average. It was impressive. And, hey, 34 points would make you the high scorer in about 99 percent of college basketball games.

But that wouldn’t be weird enough for Wednesday.

No, the high scorer, of course, had to be ASU’s Alonzo Verge. The junior college transfer who had scored a combined 67 total points this season before he played St. Mary’s (11-2). Now, Eddie House, who was sitting courtside, wasn’t exactly sweating his school record (61) but Verge just kept scoring and scoring and scoring.

And in all reality, he kind of had to. Plus, it’s not like anyone was telling him to pass.

“Once he got going, we knew we had to keep riding him and just give him the ball just about every time down the court,” Hurley said. “That was frustrating that you have that little guys playing well that you have to resort to that tactic.”

In his eighth career game for ASU, Verge scored 43 points. That’s the fourth-highest single-game total in program history. What makes it so crazy, so unthinkable is when you mix that with what everyone else in maroon and gold did.

Verge was one of three -- yes, three -- ASU players to score. Wait didn’t they have only three players score in the first half? Yes. Only Verge, Romello White, and Taeshon Cherry made a basket for the Sun Devils all night.

As a whole, ASU took 64 shots, Verge took 29. The Sun Devils made 23 baskets, Verge accounted for 18.

The most telling stat, though? Alonzo Verge had 43 points. Arizona State finished with just 56 -- meaning Verge accounted for more than two-thirds of his team’s points.

And the 40-point loss – 96-56 -- that’s the largest margin of defeat ever for a team that had a 40-point scorer.

At one point, late in the game, Verge had 39 points while his team was down 39. Hey, at least he beat St. Mary’s margin of victory -- a notion that is sure to cause the Gaels to lose sleep.

Don’t get it wrong, Wednesday was embarrassing for ASU. But it was almost so embarrassing that the Sun Devils kind of shrug their shoulders and say, ‘What could we do?’ It’s why during his postgame press conference, ASU coach Bobby Hurley was less pissed off and more amazed.

“Well, that was a hell-of-an-effort from St. Mary’s,” Hurley said to begin his presser. “They were outstanding and we weren’t -- that’s really all I’ve got on that.”

The drastic loss obviously raised questions about ASU and exposed their holes more than, maybe, Louisiana or Prairie View A&M had.

The Gaels came into the game as the nation’s best 3-point shooting team. ASU was one of the best at defending the long-range shot. You can guess which won out Wednesday.

ASU had been lauded for its press and pressure this season. When the Sun Devils were executing it was often when they were at their best. But it doesn’t come with the same bravado down 30, and the Gaels picked it apart time and time again for an easy 3-pointer or layup.

And ASU’s offensive struggles from beyond the arc -- the tribulations Hurley said earlier this week he was “going to try and pretend” were not an issue? It may, indeed, be an issue. Against St. Mary’s, ASU made 3 of its 22 (14 percent) attempts from deep.

On top of that, Remy Martin and Rob Edwards, two of the Devils’ top three scorers, finished with zero points -- the pair missed each and every one of their 14 attempts.

Wednesday had its fair share of anomalies and obscurities to make one think it was just a fluke, to the point where you could possibly see this game serving as a wake-up call for Hurley’s squad.

Or, maybe, it will serve as the precursor to a tough season. That the St. Mary’s game will be viewed as the first time ASU was truly exposed, its deficiencies and weaknesses not bailed out by a clutch shot or incredible defense.

It doesn’t seem outlandish to think people will look back on Wednesday as the catalyst -- for whichever direction ASU’s season turns. After all, who’s forgetting this bugged-out game?