Arizona State rallies, edges short-handed USC: By the Numbers

Feb 23, 2015, 4:11 AM | Updated: 4:17 am

The highlight of an ugly game between Arizona State and USC was from the Sun Devils’ weirdest new tradition: The Curtain of Distraction.

ASU only sent the Trojans to the free throw line for five attempts throughout the entirety of their 64-59 win Sunday night in Tempe, Ariz., so they knew they’d have to pull out a pretty great diversionary tactic in their limited opportunity:

Might be the best #CurtainofDistraction yet. @942Crew reenacts #JaelMary. #ASUvsUSC tied at 32 pic.twitter.com/945r7BH6eg

— MarkMcCluneCBS5 (@MarkMcCluneCBS5) February 23, 2015

The rest of the game wasn’t so amusing for either side.

USC (10-17,2-13), already last in the Pac-12, was without three players due to team issues. Arizona State (15-12, 7-7) fresh off a big win over UCLA last week, should have mowed down the Trojans easily at home.

Instead, both teams started poorly. USC opened just 1-of-7 from the field, while the Sun Devils floundered right beside them on 2-of-8 shooting and five turnovers.

In fact, ASU ended the half up just three points after shooting 29 percent from the field and giving the ball away nine times.

Where the short-handed Trojans found their sense of urgency behind Khalil Dukes’ game-high 18 points and went up by 10 over the ‘Devils, Arizona State couldn’t muster the enthusiasm for a comeback after watching one 3-point attempt after another clunk out of the basket (they made just six of 26 attempts throughout).

Freshman guard Tra Holder quenched the Sun Devil scoring drought with his first bucket of the night — and ASU’s fourth 3-pointer of the game. A second three from Jonathan Gilling helped ASU on a 9-0 scoring run.

And right when the Sun Devils got hot, USC dried up, making just two of their last 10 attempts. Arizona State ended the game outscoring the Trojans 15-5 for the comeback victory.

What did ASU basketball’s contribution to “the LA sweep” look like, by the numbers?

52

The win came on Arizona State head coach Herb Sendek’s 52nd birthday.

7-4

By the record books, ASU has done nothing but improve. Their third-straight win makes them 7-4 after an 0-4 start to Pac-12 play.

39-33

The Sun Devils just barely held an edge on the glass. They managed to out-rebound the Trojans 39-33, and allowed only seven offensive grabs.

ASU had previously out-rebounded their last three opponents 125-81 behind Savon Goodman’s last two double-digit rebounding games.

Eric Jacobsen led the Sun Devils with 10 boards.

12

Guard Gerry Blakes got back into double-digit scoring after a quiet appearance against UCLA. His 12 points and eight rebounds led ASU, and he kick-started scoring almost solely with six of ASU’s first eight points — all of which came from behind the arc.