ASU basketball survives late push from Utah for road win

Arizona State men’s basketball’s seemingly comfortable lead with three minutes to play on Wednesday at Utah dwindled into a dangerous zone, but the Sun Devils held on for a 71-63 road win.

ASU led Utah 65-55 with 2:41 remaining, but a pair of Utah 3s cut the score to 65-61 one minute later.

Moe Odum made a clutch floater out of an ASU timeout, and the Sun Devils made enough stops and free throws to lock in their second road win of the year (2-5). Their last was on Nov. 20 at Hawaii.

ASU entered Wednesday’s matchup at risk of falling below .500 for the first time this season but improved to 12-11, 3-7 in Big 12 competition. The Sun Devils also avoided a three-game skid after losses to No. 1 Arizona and UCF.

Utah fell to 9-13, 1-8 in conference play.

Massamba Diop led the Sun Devils with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Anthony Johnson scored 14 points off the bench. ASU played with seven players due to injuries, leaning on a zone defense to compensate.

Don McHenry led the Utes with 23 points.

ASU jumped ahead by 18 points in the first half and went into the break leading 41-25. The Sun Devils forced 10 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes and even went on a 12-0 run at one point.

Momentum did not carry into the second half, as Utah went on an 11-2 run over the first five minutes out of the break.

The Sun Devils weathered the run, however, and maintained at least a seven-point lead until the drama of the final two minutes.

Arizona State will take on Colorado in Boulder on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. MST before returning home to host Oklahoma State (Feb. 10) and Texas Tech (Feb. 17).

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