ASU men’s hoops pulls out OT win over Cal to complete sweep of Bay Area schools

The Arizona State Sun Devils men’s basketball team completed a much-needed sweep of the Bay Area schools with a 70-62 overtime win over the California Golden Bears on Saturday.

ASU pulled off back-to-back road wins over Stanford and Cal to improve to 18-8 overall and 9-6 in Pac-12 Conference play.

It also marks the first time since 1981 that Arizona State has completed multiple road sweeps in conference play in a single season.

The Sun Devils were able to accomplish that feat without 7-foot, 245-pound senior center Warren Washington, who missed both games due to COVID-19.

“I feel like it was an amazing accomplishment that we were able to get the road sweep without Warren,” ASU head coach Bobby Hurley told reporters postgame.

“He’s a guy who we’ve relied on so much in so many different ways, so to be able to get this done without him is pretty special.”

The victory was a requirement for head coach Bobby Hurley and Co.’s hopes of making the NCAA Tournament, as Cal is the worst team in the conference at 3-22 (2-12 Pac-12).

“Coming into it, you know that there’s not a whole lot to gain and a whole lot to lose,” Hurley said.

Arizona State was once again led by guard Desmond Cambridge Jr., who had a game-high 24 points on 6-of-15 shooting from the field, including a 4-for-13 clip from three-point range.

The fifth-year senior was also a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line to go along with three assists, three rebounds, two steals and one block in 37 minutes played.

It was an abysmal shooting night from a team perspective for both sides, as ASU had a 33% mark from the field compared to Cal’s 34% clip.

The Sun Devils were an even worse 23% from deep (6-for-26) while the Bears shot 37% from beyond the arc (10-of-17).

“We fought through the game the majority of the game. I didn’t think it was the prettiest of games for stretches,” Hurley said. “They played really hard, so did we.

“I thought down the stretch, both stepped up their shot-making. … It was really some big plays being made on the offensive side by both teams. It was great that we got overtime and we were able to circle the wagons and continue to make plays in overtime.”

However, it was a historic night for Arizona State on the glass, as the team compiled a total of 56 rebounds, 20 of which were on the offensive end and 13 by Sun Devil forward Alonzo Gaffney.

It marks the first time since 1996 that ASU eclipsed 50 boards in a conference game.

“This was the best Alonzo Gaffney has played this year,” Hurley said. “He was so active. … That big putback and just really good defense.

“When he was in at the 5, we’re able to switch everything because they did hurt us down the stretch from the three-point line.”

LOOSE BALLS

True freshman center Duke Brennan made his first start in place of Washington.

UP NEXT

Arizona State returns home to host the Colorado Buffaloes on Thursday at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe.

Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. and can be heard on ESPN 620 AM / 98.7 FM HD-2, the Arizona Sports app and ArizonaSports.com.

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