ASU falls to Stanford at buzzer despite Pac-12 Tournament record 15 3s
Mar 9, 2022, 3:27 PM | Updated: 8:50 pm
Arizona State's Kimani Lawrence (4) drives against Stanford's Max Murrell (10) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament Wednesday, March 9, 2022, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
(AP Photo/John Locher)
The Arizona State Sun Devils’ basketball season is over.
Despite tying a Pac-12 Tournament record 15 3-pointers, ASU fell to the Stanford Cardinal 71-70 on a buzzer-beater in the first round on Wednesday in Las Vegas.
‼️ JAMES KEEFE FTW ‼️#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/UEejoy7AJf
— Stanford Men's Basketball (@StanfordMBB) March 9, 2022
The Sun Devils led 69-55 with just over three minutes to go in the ballgame, but a 16-1 run by Stanford completed the comeback.
“It’s tough for my kids, they’ve really been playing well the last few weeks,” ASU head coach Bobby Hurley told reporters postgame.
“I thought we controlled most of the game and played a winning game, but just didn’t finish. Now you have to pay the price for it and that’s kind of what March is. So it’s a tough ending to our season.”
Arizona State shooting an abysmal 43% (3-for-7) from the free-throw line on the day only aided the Cardinal’s win.
“I think it took this type of game for us to lose, so it makes you wonder what might have been if we could have gotten this done today,” Hurley added.
ASU shot an impressive 54% from beyond the arc, going 15-for-28 from deep.
Sun Devils guard D.J. Horne led the team with 21 points, 15 of which came via five 3-point makes on 12 attempts (42%).
Arizona State guards Jay Heath and Marreon Jackson also each hit four and three 3-pointers, respectively, to each finish in double figures.
The Sun Devils also got a big contribution from the bench with 19 points, 14 of which came from Jackson.
ASU’s all-time appearances leader Kimani Lawrence had this emphatic slam in his final Pac-12 Tournament contest:
Kimani Lawrence dunks it home! @TimHealeyASU with the call. #Pac12MBB
(Via @Pac12Network) pic.twitter.com/RSASjHCDHM
— 98.7 Arizona Sports (@AZSports) March 9, 2022
“I’m going to miss it,” Lawrence told reporters postgame while holding back tears. “Competing with Coach Hurley and my teammates over the last few years were some of the greatest years of my life, and ups and downs I’ve been through.
“And just wish I could have did more today and helped the team out a little more.”
