‘Warrior’ performances by Graham, Jackson lead ASU to upset No. 3 UCLA

TEMPE — The Arizona State Sun Devils made history on Saturday night at Desert Financial Arena.

With an 87-84 triple overtime victory, ASU became the second team in D1 history to beat an AP top-5 team in three or more overtimes, according to ESPN’s broadcast.

FINAL: ASU upsets No. 3 UCLA, 87-84. #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/AfwcESWvGU

— Jake Anderson (@jwa1994) February 6, 2022

“It was very rewarding,” head coach Bobby Hurley said postgame. “I feel good for the kids because I felt like we’ve been playing really well the last couple weeks but just haven’t been able to break through with a victory.

“They’re a hell of a basketball team. I have a ton of respect for their program and who they are. Those guys are winners over there. It’s a great feeling to beat a team of that quality.”

Hurley joked that he would have been willing to keep playing until Sunday if the contest would have allowed for it.

“I was enjoying it. Part of me didn’t want to end,” he explained. “Both teams were really good tonight and played a heck of a game, so it was fun to be a part of it and coach it.”

For the third straight game against a top-20 team, Hurley’s side held its opponent to under 40% shooting from the field. No. 3 UCLA finished the night at 37% (29 of 78) while also going an abysmal 5-for-22 from three-point range (23%).

And after recent games saw a wide free throw disparity in favor of the Sun Devils’ opposition, Saturday night’s charity stripe figures only favored the Bruins by two at 28-26. Neither team shot particularly well from the line, as UCLA hit 21 of 28 (75%) while ASU went 18-for-26 (69%).

Bruins star Johnny Juzang was also held in check by the Sun Devils defense. The UCLA guard did manage to record a 20-point double-double on 8 of 22 shooting (36.4%), but Juzang also ended up fouling out in the extra 15 overtime minutes.

Arizona State flirted with one of those live or die by the three type of games, as the Sun Devils finished the night 11 of 32 (34.4%) from beyond the arc.

In fact, ASU’s last three buckets of the opening half were all three-pointers while UCLA only converted on one of its last eight attempts to give Arizona State a 34-32 halftime lead heading into the locker room for the first time in Pac-12 play this season. And of the Sun Devils’ 30 shot attempts in the first half, 15 of them were three-point shots. ASU shot 13 of 30 (43%) from the field and went 6-for-15 from deep in the opening 20 minutes.

The three-point brigade was led by guard Marreon Jackson, who led all Sun Devils in scoring with 24 points on 7-for-18 shooting (39%) and a game-high four threes on 11 tries (36.4%). He also led ASU at the free throw line, converting six of his eight attempts for a 75% clip.

However, Jackson revealed postgame that he has been dealing with a wrist injury on his shooting hand since November.

“My right hand and my shooting wrist has been messed up for the entire season and it’s just starting to get better. … That messes with you mentally,” he explained. “I’m missing shots that I hit 10 out of 10 and it was just taking a toll on me mentally.

“I had to just go back to the basics really, just repeating everything, getting in the gym extra than what I’ve been doing just to get myself back, just getting that confidence back. This game was definitely the game to do that, to come back like that.”

Another Sun Devil who had a silent ailment that wasn’t revealed until after the game was forward Jalen Graham, who was unsure if he was even going to play against the Bruins on Saturday night due to a non-COVID-19 illness that has affected him the last two games.

“I just said to rest and sleep,” Hurley said of what he told Graham on Saturday morning. “He got some medicine and he was able to get down some fluids. He just battled through it and was a warrior today considering what he’s going through.”

Arizona State will now complete the fifth and final matchup of a five-game gauntlet on Monday that has featured the same ranked teams in No. 19 USC, No. 7 Arizona and No. 3 UCLA.

Saturday’s contest — which marked the fourth top-20 team ASU has faced since Jan. 24 and the second top-seven team in eight days — also snapped a four-game skid and will give the team confidence going into Monday’s home matchup with the Arizona Wildcats, who are coming off of a sweep of the two L.A. schools.

“It would’ve been tough if we didn’t come through with a win, but the morale in the locker room right now is unbelievable because we know that we’re not backing into wins somehow. We’re winning these games and we’ve been very competitive in these games against the elite teams and we’ve been going toe-to-toe. So to break through and win, hopefully it will build confidence as we keep going.”

“They were very determined. They would not be denied,” he added. “That’s what I was hearing in huddles from the players. … They had the right mindset, so you knew they were going to do what it takes to win.”

UP NEXT

The Sun Devils host No. 7 Arizona on Monday at 7 p.m. on ESPN 620 AM or 98.7 FM HD-2.

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