As Arizona State’s starters were being announced on Tuesday night, head coach Bobby Hurley gave a final request to senior forward Kimani Lawrence.

“Right during introductions, right before he got his name called to start the game, I said, ‘hey man, I need 20 rebounds,’” Hurley told reporters of his early-week message to Lawrence. “It just took him a couple of days, but he figured it out.”

In the absence of sophomore forward Jalen Graham, Hurley knew the Sun Devils would be in greater need of a rebounding presence. The weekend prior, Lawrence came up with nine rebounds while Graham struggled with foul trouble against UCLA.

“I think it goes without saying who the star was tonight,” Hurley said as Lawrence finished with his second straight double-double, securing 20 rebounds to go along with 21 points. “Just unbelievable work. Rebounding and scoring it. Making his free throws to put us up four. Just an outstanding game. He was everywhere. He was all over the court.”

With Arizona State routing Washington in a 33-point victory Tuesday, Lawrence secured a double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds, eight shy of Hurley’s lofty goal for the forward. On Thursday night, Lawrence picked up where he left off, making the dirty work look pretty for the Sun Devils in an 80-72 victory over the Huskies.

The final minute of play Thursday night was indicative of the resilience the Sun Devils possess and the grit Lawrence has exhibited in recent games. Holding an 8-11 record and sitting in the bottom half of the Pac-12, ASU refused to be denied a second straight victory over the same opponent.

Just as the clock ticked below a minute, senior guard Alonzo Verge drove past Washington’s Cole Bajema drew a foul and made both free throws to give the Sun Devils a 74-72 lead. On the ensuing defensive possession, a wall of post defense by Verge forced a kickout to Marcus Tsohonis, whose 3-point attempt clanged off the rim and settled in the skying hands of Lawrence for his 18th rebound of the night.

Lawrence, a 3-for-7 free throw shooter to that point of the night went to the line and knocked down both ends of a one-and-one to give ASU a four-point lead. Trailing by two possessions, Washington’s Quade Green drove and missed a layup. With the ball hanging on the rim and Graham contesting the shot, Lawrence cleaned up the miss for his 19th rebound of the night.

To cap things off, Lawrence stripped Bajema in the paint with the Sun Devils leading 78-72, leading to a run out that would end in a lay-up as Verge fed the Providence, Rhode Island, native for his seventh assist of the night. A missed layup as the final seconds ticked off was tapped around and secured by Lawrence, solidifying an 80-72 victory and the first 20-point, 20-rebound game for a Sun Devil since Mike Batiste accomplished the feat in 1997.

“It’s really surreal,” said Lawrence, the 10th Sun Devil ever to enter the 20-20 club. “I’ve just been really aggressive. Making a big point of getting rebounds. I know we’re missing some guys that usually help contribute on that end, so I know I have to pick up the slack.”

“We’ve had all these guys out, and (Lawrence) has really taken his game to a different place” explained Hurley, as the Sun Devils played Thursday night’s game without five scholarship players. “It’s been very exciting and rewarding as a coach to watch him play at that level.”

**

Arizona State’s second victory in as many tries against the Huskies came in a classic performance from senior guard Remy Martin. The Sun Devils’ senior guard was in attack mode early, establishing an offensive rhythm by scoring 13 of ASU’s first 17 points. A heavy offensive presence from Martin, Verge, and Lawrence would result in a final line which saw no bench scoring for the Sun Devils.

On a night where Verge struggled with his shot – the Chicago, Illinois, native was 3-of-14 from the floor – Martin tied a season-high with 31 points. With his shot not falling, Verge instead contributed with seven assists and five rebounds.

“I thought he had some really good passes in the first half,” Hurley said of Verge’s playmaking ability, crediting his defense in the post as well. “They were blitzing ball screens some, and he was able to get around the corner and find his teammates. He did a nice job.”

As Arizona State trailed in the second half; Martin nailed a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give the Sun Devils a 60-59 lead. When the Sun Devils found themselves trailing 70-69, Martin came off a screen for a catch-and-shoot 3 which gave ASU a 72-70 lead late.

“This team has been a really fun team to coach these last two weeks,” said Hurley, after Martin finished with an efficient 12-21 shooting night, including four made 3s on 10 attempts. Thursday night was the seventh straight game in which Martin has scored 20-plus points, a mark that he’s accomplished twice and ranks second-best in program history.

Immediately upon Lawrence grabbing his 20th rebound, Arizona State’s bench exploded in a joyous yelp. Improving to 9-11 with the win, Arizona State sets up for two more home games with Washington State – on Saturday and Monday – as an optimistic bunch.

“When you’re surrounded by a group of guys that support you; it’s easy to carry that momentum into the next game,” Lawrence said.

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