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Published Feb 23, 2021
Veterans lead the way as ASU throttles past Washington
Mac Friday
Staff Writer

Deep in the bowels of Desert Financial Arena, Arizona State senior forward Kimani Lawrence sat down in front of a computer to talk with local media and reporters. After about two minutes, the Sun Devil swingman stood up once questions came to a halt. As he rose to walk back to the locker room, a booming voice flowed through the media’s Zoom call.


“Kimani Lawrence is awesome!”


The voice was ESPN’s brash and colorful analyst, Pac-12 superfan and basketball legend Bill Walton; and he was right - for the past two hours, Lawrence was awesome. As a matter of fact, despite being depleted and pressed for numbers, the entire Arizona State basketball team (8-11, 5-8 Pac-12) was awesome, as they flexed their muscles en route to a 97-64 victory over the Washington Huskies (5-18, 4-14 Pac-12) in Tempe on Tuesday night.


The Sun Devils, who have been without freshman stars Marcus Bagley and Josh Christopher, since Jan. 28 and Feb. 11, respectively, were also without sophomore forward Jalen Graham, among others, on Tuesday night, but that didn’t seem to matter.


Arizona State put on a show in Desert Financial Arena, dominating both sides of the floor dramatically with efficiency in nearly every category as ASU’s veterans set the tone. Leading the way, three seniors - Remy Martin, Alonzo Verge Jr., and Kimani Lawrence - all finished in double digits.


Lawrence, the recipient of Walton’s electric praise after the contest had one of his best performances in maroon and gold on Tuesday, as he tied his career-high for points with 22 and added a double-double to boot, with 12 rebounds - two on the offensive glass. Add in a steal and a pair of blocks and Tuesday night became a game the Providence, Rhode Island native will not soon forget.


“Kimani Lawrence is in a really good place right now, playing as good of basketball as I’ve seen him play,” Hurley, Lawrence’s coach since 2017, said. “The past two games, he’s been outstanding and really for the past couple of weeks, he’s been good, but he’s taken his statistics to a different level to make up for what we don’t have right now…he’s got a nose for the ball, he’s really moving it well without it, finishing, and the guys have done a great job of finding him.”


Lawrence, who found himself down early in the season, made a minor tune-up with his jump shot and has found instant results, especially with the lack of frontcourt players available to Hurley’s squad.


“I’m in a really good place right now,” Lawrence affirmed. “I’ve got a good rhythm going, a new team going. My teammates are helping out a lot; the coaches are helping out a lot. A lot of things are just going right for me right now.”


The senior scoring tandem of Martin and Verge also had a notable night in Tempe, scoring 42 of ASU’s 97 points while also accounting for 13 of the Sun Devils’ 19 assists.


Martin, the leading scorer in the Pac-12, didn’t start so smoothly though, shooting a 1-6 mark from the field while missing his first four free throws. Across the final 10 minutes of the first half, Martin shot himself out of the funk before going on to stroke threes from range, layups to the cup and his signature midrange jumper.


Martin, who struggled with the loss of his grandfather earlier in the season, seemed to fall behind a step, but over the past month, the Sun Devil favorite has turned a corner, ascending to his throne as the leading scorer in the conference and one of the nation’s best basketball players.


“Bottom line is that Remy Martin is playing at an elite level,” Hurley said firmly. “I think since the second Arizona game, he’s been a different player, and he’s been the player I’ve grown accustomed to coaching. Our level of communication has improved…. he’s seeing things out on the floor, just making great plays out there and doing it with passion. He’s competing by playing as good as anybody in the conference right now.”


Verge, who scored 16, also grabbed six rebounds and dished seven assists, a similar stat line to the one he produced in Saturday’s heartbreaking loss to UCLA and received praise from Hurley for his ability to do more than just score the ball.


Junior forward Chris Osten also received a good word from Hurley, as he nearly sniffed a double-double of his own, with eight points, eight rebounds – five of them on the offensive glass – and three of the five ASU blocks on the night.


“I liked Chris’s activity out there – he finished around the basket, he made us free throws, which was great,” Hurley explained. “He generated a couple of additional possessions for us, and that’s who he has to be; he’s got to be a livewire in the paint and at the basket. I thought he did a very nice job.”


Led by the displays of Lawrence, Martin, Verge, and Osten, ASU had its second-best statistical performance from the field on the season, shooting 50.7 percent as they found holes in UW’s unique 2-3 zone. They won both the rebounding battle and dished more assists than Washington, while dominating the Huskies in the paint and on the fast break.


“I love our numbers; I thought we shared it well,” Hurley said. “We shot 50 percent, and we’ve been doing that pretty regularly over the past couple of games. Our three-point shooting was good, making 10 for the game. We did a lot of things well at that end, and they showed the zone a little bit and then got into more of a matchup (defense) after a pass or two, so we ran a lot of our man offense in this game.”


ASU’s success proved to be a double-edged sword as well, as the offensive prowess was reflected to the defensive side of the ball as well. ASU forced 16 turnovers via 12 steals, held UW to 36.9 percent from the field and 24 percent from the three-point line, a particular point of emphasis for Hurley.


“I liked our intensity and energy on defense,” Hurley stated. “We generated 12 steals and did a nice job of making some things happen defensively and getting stops; holding them to 36 percent was really good. An important thing for us was guarding the three-point line, so we held them to 24 percent, and that certainly helps. Defensively, I was very pleased with our effort.”


Leading by 20 at the half and nearly 40 points in the waning minutes, Hurley was able to sub out his heavy hitters, saving their energy for the harsh road that remains.


With less than two weeks to play five more games, the Sun Devils have a tall order ahead of them while also juggling the injury bug and the recovery of players like Graham and Bagley. For Hurley’s squad to ride this wave of success and run the table heading into Las Vegas, it’s going to take all eyes forward on the task at hand. First on that list is a rematch against the Huskies in less than 48 hours, again on the Desert Financial Arena hardwood.


“It’s a quick turnaround, and to get Remy out for the last eight minutes and similarly for Kimani (it was helpful) to not risk the potential of another injury,” Hurley explained. “I anticipate seeing a way different team on Thursday night as they have time to look at this film. We have to reset and have a short memory, take whatever positivity we can in this game, but go into the next matchup with a clean slate.”


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