ASU starting backcourt explodes in second half for win over Washington
Jan 25, 2017, 11:39 PM | Updated: Jan 26, 2017, 2:51 am
Arizona State guard Shannon Evans drives against Washington during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)
(AP Photo/Matt York)
TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona State played just as sloppy as their opposition in the first half, but a second-half explosion from both of its starting guards was enough for the Sun Devils to take control and beat Washington 86-75 at home.
Junior guards Shannon Evans II and Tra Holder finished with 25 points and 23, respectively, with 21 of Holder’s coming in the second half.
The Sun Devils (10-11) limited Washington freshman point guard Markelle Fultz to 4-of-13 shooting in the first 30 minutes or so of the game, with Evans getting the better of him for most of the night offensively.
“We just gave him a lot of attention, and Shannon knew he had to be right in him,” Sun Devils head coach Bobby Hurley said after the game.
Even with ASU holding Fultz in check for a good chunk of the game, the freshman still finished with 28 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, making seven of eight shots late in the game with Phoenix Suns general manager Ryan McDonough looking on sitting courtside.
“He’s a special player,” Hurley said. “(He) does it real easy.”
Sun Devils senior wing Torain Graham, who entered the game as the second-leading scorer in the Pac-12, provided an additional 17.
ASU managed a 34-29 lead at halftime despite shooting 37 percent from the field and committing seven turnovers. A lot of this had to do with the Huskies’ poor play. Washington (9-11) had nearly as many turnovers (8) as it did made field goals (11) in the first half.
Fultz, who is widely regarded as the No. 1 prospect in the 2017 NBA Draft, could not catch a break in the early going.
His first-half stat line was rather average, but most of that was due to his teammates, who continued to miss open shots. Fultz could have had 10 assists in the first 20 minutes alone — he had two — had it not been for blown open jumpers and shots around the rim.
It does not take a body language expert to tell you Fultz was upset with his teammates, showing clear frustration at mistake after mistake. Fultz did not contribute to the eight turnovers in the first half and nearly half of them were on travels, with almost every one followed by Fultz either raising his hands up or hanging his head as he went back on defense.
The energy and quality of play in the game would pick up in the second half.
The Sun Devils started with a 10-0 run in the first two minutes, which included two threes from Evans.
After Evans scored again early in the second half to make it a 15-point lead, he slapped the floor as Fultz brought the ball up, which seemed to wake him and his Husky team up a bit.
In a three-minute span, Fultz had four assists and two points, leading a 16-4 Huskies run.
Evans’ backcourt running mate, Holder, scored on four straight possessions for his own 11-0 run to respond, making it a 15-point lead again for the Sun Devils.
Fultz would do his best to not let the Sun Devils ease into the win, however, scoring eight straight in 80 seconds to keep the game from becoming a blowout. He scored 18 points in the final 5:11 of the game, nearly making an improbable comeback a realistic possibility.
Down seven with less than 35 seconds left, Washington had the ball and Huskies forward Dominic Green elected to shoot a three-pointer on the wing instead of hitting a red-hot Fultz waiting at the top of the key for one more pass. Fultz immediately sprinted in for the offensive rebound as soon as Green went into his shooting form, only for the shot to be out of his reach and an air ball out of bounds.
The play summed up Fultz’s issues with his team in the game and on the season.
