When a question was posed to Bobby Hurley about what he’d learned about himself most through the frustrations and challenges of a two-year stretch of futility, the seventh-year Sun Devil head coach spoke Friday of his growing ability to understand different circumstances. Two days later, Hurley’s patience wore thin.
Hurley voiced his frustration – but was nothing less than usual – during the first half of Arizona State’s (6-10, 2-4 Pac-12) 79-76 loss to Stanford (11-6, 4-3) Saturday night, despite his team’s disadvantage at the free-throw line. A couple of stomps, a couple of steaming red faces, but nothing to sound the alarms about. Until the opening possession of the second half. Hurley’s boiling over frustration came to be in the opening moments of the second half. Upset with a 17-1 first-half free throw advantage, Hurley was quickly assessed a technical foul 30 seconds into the half for barking at the officials.
After he’d temporarily gotten through with voicing his frustration, the whistles continued to blow to the tune of a 29-16 Sun Devil disadvantage. When all was said and done, six Sun Devils wound up with at least four fouls, and two (super senior forward Kimani Lawrence and redshirt junior forward Alonzo Gaffney) fouled out.
But no whistle was more significant or more consequential than the final one of the night. Arizona State fought back from a 10-point halftime deficit and a Stanford lead that extended to as much as 15 in the opening minutes of the second half to tie the game at 76. The late-game effective execution of the Sun Devils was once again on display after a superb performance in that category earlier in the week. The Sun Devils made their final three shots from the floor. After shooting over 50 percent in the second half against Utah earlier in the week, ASU one-upped itself, making 63 percent of its attempts in the final 20 minutes in Palo Alto. And yet, none of the effort resulted in a win.
Seconds after scoring a game-tying bucket in the post, junior forward Jalen Graham fouled Brandon Angel on a 3-point attempt. Angel made all three free throws, putting the cap on a night where 40.5 percent of Stanford’s scoring came from the line.
“I’m just proud of my guys’ effort,” Hurley said postgame. “My guys fought their asses off, played a winning game. I have never been a part of a game like this. Ever. As a player or a coach. I’m just going to leave it at that.”
The frustration in Hurley’s voice was understandable. His Sun Devil squad entered the game as one of the nation’s above average defenses and came into play averaging 18.1 fouls per game – a mark that put them 79th in the nation.
Few games have been played in Division 1 basketball – this year or any – that mirror what occurred in Palo Alto Saturday night. Stanford’s 32 made free throws – 19 of which came in the second half – were the most made in a single game by the Cardinal since they made 36 in an NIT win over Rhode Island in 2015. Ironically enough, Rhode Island was coached by Hurley’s brother, Dan. The 32-attempt difference between the Sun Devils and Cardinal was the second largest of the season in a Division 1 game.
A foul disparity of epic proportions overshadowed an impressive performance from ASU’s trio of guards. For just the second time this season, DJ Horne (18), Marreon Jackson (12), and Jay Heath (11) all scored in double figures. Horne, who rode the bench for most of the second half, was clutch, converting a corner 3 with 1:28 to knot the game at 74.
Arizona State got contributions from Alonzo Gaffney (3 of 3 shooting) and Luther Muhammad (2 of 5 from 3-point range) to go along with the third consecutive impressive showing for Graham. With 16 points, six rebounds (a season-high), and three assists, Graham once again was steady off the bench.
“JG has been a real go-to guy for us,” Hurley said after the fourth Pac-12 loss of ASU’s season. Graham’s offensive contributions came in a 52.5 percent shooting performance for the Sun Devils, the best shooting display in a loss during the Hurley era. “He made some clutch shots again. He’s done it the last three games with his offense. He’s battling, and hopefully, he continues to take steps. It’s great to see him play basketball like that.”
The three-point loss was another in a long list of wonky things to happen to Hurley and ASU in the last two seasons. Any potential progress with patience may have escaped Hurley Saturday night, as a Sun Devil squad desperate for quality wins and any semblance of continuing momentum once again received another gut punch.
On his way off the court, Hurley and the Sun Devils had their final interaction with referee Chris Rastatter. Hurley pointed at the official and turned in dismay, hands on hips as he walked away empty-handed and without another opportunity for a quality victory.
