Shorthanded ASU can’t get over the hump at Oklahoma State

Given the circumstances it was facing, ASU men’s basketball competed well to not be put away in an 86-73 loss at Oklahoma State on Sunday.

Due to factors including starting senior guards Adam Miller and BJ Freeman being out due to suspension, an 11-2 run by Oklahoma State to start and Jayden Quaintance going down with an ankle injury that would rule him out, walk-ons Bobby Hurley (coach’s son who shares the same name) and Connor Braun were inserted into the game in the first half.

Braun exited the game after a hard fall and would be ruled out having played less than a minute, but Hurley really competed in a way the earlier seven players hadn’t.

Despite his 6-foot-1, 160-pound listing, Hurley fought for boards, injected off-ball screens to an offense that lacks them and defended hard in one-on-one situations. His effort set the tone for how the rest of the Sun Devils played the rest of the way.

Alston Mason, one of the last two remaining starters by the time Quaintance was out, took the reins of the offense to post an ASU career-high 25 points after he had done so with 20 the last time out against Kansas State.

However, it was a very standstill, individualized brand of offense, indicated by his one assist and ASU’s seven as a team compared to 12 turnovers. It had nine turnovers by the time it had nine made shots as it continued searching for its first single-digit turnover game of the season.

After the Cowboys (12-11, 4-8) had nearly stretched their lead to 20 with 14 minutes left in the game, ASU (12-11, 3-9) came alive to rip off a 15-4 run, punctuated by two 3s from Joson Sanon. The freshman scored 17 points on the day for his first double-digit scoring game since Dec. 3 against San Diego when he had 19.

ASU’s third high-profile freshman, Amier Ali, fought hard throughout the game and was 2-for-6 from 3. It was his first game with multiple made 3s since the second game of the year.

The Sun Devils were never able to get over the hump to tie or lead, and Shawn Phillips Jr. fouling out on a made bucket that made it 73-64 with 5:50 left felt like the dagger. Phillips had picked up two quick fouls in five minutes to begin the game.

A seven-point deficit with six minutes remaining was the closest ASU got.

If not the turnovers, the rebounding deficit sealed ASU’s fate. It lost the battle 46-34 for the game, and the Sun Devils could not get a rebound in the final minutes when they had a chance to get back in it.

Jamyron Keller led the Cowboys with 14 points, 11 of which came in the first half.

ASU next plays at No. 13 Texas Tech on Wednesday at 7 p.m. MST.

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