LOS ANGELES - As Bennie Boatwright’s 3-pointer shot through the net on the south end of the Galen Center, the gears started turning in ASU head coach Bobby Hurley’s head.

Down two points with 11 seconds to play, he could call a timeout and design a set play or just let his guys turn loose and make something happen.

He opted for the latter.

“With the zone, it’s a little tricky to script something within (11) seconds,” Hurley said in ASU’s 69-67 loss to USC. “I’ve always kind of leaned towards not allowing your opponent to talk about their defense and the time and situation, and hope that in a scramble situation, that we could come up with a good shot.”

Without hesitation, sophomore guard Remy Martin grabbed the ball and started pushing it up the court. There was no set. No real ball movement. It was, as Martin called it, “Just try and go make a play.”

Martin tried. Operating near the top of the key, he took a step to his right -- trying to find some space with USC’s Shaqquan Aaron and Derryck Thornton all over him -- and heaved up an off-balance 3-pointer with about five seconds left on the clock.

It clanked off the right side of the rim, into the hands of USC (12-8, 5-2 Pac-12) guard Jonah Mathews.

Thirty minutes later, now in street clothes, it didn’t seem like the idea of a timeout had crossed Martin’s mind.

“Coach just let me play,” Martin said. “Coach let me try and make a play, he believes in me and I let the team down today.”

Added Hurley: “There might have been a better shot out there in that time frame, and Remy’s shot was contested, but he had made a few in the game so I think we were OK with him taking that shot.”

It’s not a crazy thought. Playing 25 miles away from his hometown, Martin had already justified Hurley’s thought process with two key 3-pointers -- about a minute and a half apart -- to take ASU (14-6, 5-3 Pac-12) from trailing by three to up three with 3:41 to play.

His final miss, though, left ASU in a near dire position.

Freshman guard Luguentz Dort fouled Mathews after his quick rebound, sending him to the line for a one-and-one with 2.5 seconds still on the clock. And again, Hurley had a decision to make: If Mathews misses, call a timeout and set a play or try for a long heave.

Just like he had done less than a minute earlier, he opted for the latter.

“We wanted to throw it ahead to (Dort) if (Mathews) missed (his free throw) and try,” Hurley said, “and with the time that was left (2.5 seconds,) try and take a dribble or two and get a shot on the basket.”

The first part of that plan came to fruition. Mathews missed. But upon grabbing the rebound, Dort took one dribble and, still about 55 feet away from the basket, called a timeout. The 2.5 seconds quickly whittled down to 0.8.

At long last, ASU had its timeout. It was too late. Dort caught the inbounds pass, turned and hucked up a deep three that never had a chance.

“We were looking at Remy in the right corner, we also had Rob near the top of the key area and Zylan was under the basket if he wasn’t open,” Hurley said of the final play. “That wasn’t maybe the best option because Lu had to turn and shoot.

“I think if we waited for Remy, he might have been there or have a chance to get a better shot.”

The ‘what-if’ game is a dubious one to play. Sure, ASU could have handled the last 11 seconds in a more reasonable manner. But as Hurley and Martin talked postgame, they seemed confident that sequence wasn’t the game’s decider.

Blame that on ASU’s 19-of-62 mark from the field. Or its 33 percent clip from beyond the arc. Or a key sequence it couldn’t capitalize on.

After leading 38-35 at halftime, the Sun Devils committed eight turnovers in the first eight minutes of the second half, standing by as the Trojans galloped to a seven-point lead. But shortly after, Boatwright and USC forward Nick Rakocevic, picked up their fourth foul.

Boatwright exited the game with 12:09 left in the game, returning with just under nine minutes to play. In that time, ASU was only able to muster its deficit down to one.

“I think where this game kind of got away from us was when Boatwright went out of the game with fouls,” Hurley said. “Then he sat for several minutes and we were doing some really bad things out there. We didn’t take advantage of him not being out on the floor.”

Added Martin: “Just silly plays. Turnovers. I think I had two turnovers at the time. I have to capitalize on that. Just have to make plays, that’s all it comes down to really.”

It left the Sun Devils reliant on something that hasn’t treated them well this season: Free throws. ASU has shot just above 66 percent at the line this season, leaving worry in the stomach of fans every time a Sun Devil steps to the line.

Down one with 1:35, Dort eased the worry, burying both of his shots to give the Devils a one-point lead. Next came senior forward Zylan Cheatham, who grabbed a defensive rebound with 24 seconds left.

Shooting the front end of a one-and-one, his high-arching shot shot off the rim and into the hands of USC, giving the Trojans just enough time to run a play that put the ball in Boatwright’s hands.

“They set a good screen -- they had been doing a lot of ball screens - it looked like a quick pin down and we didn’t get through the screen well enough or the guy who set it just didn’t help enough,” Hurley said of Boatwright’s game-winner three.

“He did get a very good look.”