Four seconds. That's how long the University of San Diego held a lead Sunday night in their road contest versus Arizona State. And granted, such a stat in a 91-67 ASU win would certainly imply complete dominance by hosts. But truth be told that the visitors were peskier than the scoreboard would perhaps indicate, and ultimately they succumbed to a Sun Devil squad that enjoyed one of the most productive offensive outputs in the Bobby Hurley era. Yet, ASU's head coach was far from content with the
"It wasn't our finest work," Hurley said of the 24-point win. "Maybe you can chalk it up to a letdown of sorts. We need to play on both ends. We were a little sloppy on offense. I liked how we came out, and the guys got into doubles (digit lead) quickly. We didn't play the defense like we have been playing, but it's good how we finished the last 8-10 minutes."
A 19-10 lead with 12:22 left in the half was erased by an 11-0 run by the Toreros (6-6), giving them a 21-20 edge with just over nine minutes left in the period. Nine straight points by ASU guard Desmond Cambridge quickly tilted the scales in his team's favor, which was up 28-23 with 6:43 left. although Arizona State (11-1) wasn't open to create more distance and went down to the locker room with a somewhat modest 41-34 lead.
A corner three by ASU guard DJ Horne to open the second stanza put ASU ahead 44-34; a double-digit lead was one that the Sun Devils did enjoy for long stretches of the second half. With 8:50 left, the Sun Devils' lead was in single digits, 65-57. But a massive 22-2 run by Arizona State, thanks in part to eight points by ASU center Warren Washington sealed the fate of this Sunday night affair, ensuring that ASU would finish their non-conference slate at home unbeaten at 6-0. ASU's 91 points were the most scored by the team this season, and that output was fueled by its 14 three-point baskets, which were also the most by the Sun Devils this year. This game marked the fourth time in 12 games that Arizona State had at least ten makes from beyond the arch.
All five of ASU's starters finished in double figures, and some of them also achieved some milestones in this home win. Desmond Cambridge's 23 points were a career-high for him in a Sun Devil uniform, as were Warren Washington's 18 points which included a perfect 8-8 from the charity stripe. Guard Devan Cambridge scored 13 points and paced his team with 11 rebounds. Guard Frankie Collins' 11 assists were a career-high for him, and those were part of a double-double that included 12 points, 10 of them scored in the second half. Dj Horne scored none of his ten points in the second half.
Arizona State will play its last non-conference game of the year, a Wednesday night contest on the road against a challenging University of San Francisco team. In the last couple of weeks, ASU has been on the cusp of entering the AP Top-25 poll, and it does appear that in this week's ranking, the Sun Devil should finally break in. If that were to happen, it's a feat that Hurley feels his team is deserving of.
"Our wins speak for themselves," Hurley commented. "We're 11-1, we won on the road at Colorado, we won against VCU, Michigan, and Creighton on neutral courts. We've done what we should have done, and I think that should be rewarded. That's a lot more basketball to be played, but as it stands right now, I think we are a Top-25 team."
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