Tra Holder’s last-second heroics help ASU edge Colorado

Tra Holder’s clutch free throw takes the honor for the @OpusBank #12Best Moment! #Pac12Hoops https://t.co/qo75beUhoc

— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) January 6, 2017

TEMPE, Ariz. — Arizona State won a total of five Pac-12 games in Bobby Hurley’s first campaign as head coach last year. Just three games into conference play this season, the Sun Devils are nearly halfway to that total.

Shannon Evans and Torian Graham each scored 18 points, Obinna Oleka chipped in yet another double-double and Tra Holder sank two free throws with 1.6 seconds remaining as the Sun Devils snagged a victory over Colorado on Thursday night. The win moves ASU to 9-7 overall, and 2-1 in the Pac-12.

Five different Sun Devils scored in double-digits, an especially impressive feat due to their relatively thin rotation. And that rotation was stretched even tighter when Jethro Tshisumpa was tossed from the game late in the first half.

“Well, sometimes, you don’t have a bunch of guys, you need the right guys,” Hurley pointed out afterward. “You know, I think right now we have the right guys. All eight guys that are playing at this point – I have confidence in them, I trust them.”

Tshisumpa and Colorado forward Xavier Johnson got tangled up with 1:27 remaining before halftime, and a pretty large scuffle ensued, with other players from both sides intervening. Cooler heads ultimately prevailed but, after a lengthy review by the officials, both Tshisumpa and Johnson were tagged with Flagrant 2 fouls and ejected.

The Buffaloes lost their No. 2 scorer as a result, putting more pressure on leading man Derrick White, who responded with a cool 35 points. Meanwhile, ASU was forced to rely even more heavily on Evans, Graham, Holder, Oleka and Kodi Justice. They each logged at least 31 minutes of playing time, and they all produced in a game that was tight most of the way.

“We got contributions from everyone that played. So it was a very, very good, across the board, unified win,” Hurley noted. “Everyone will point to the play that Tra made, and it was a terrific individual play and great awareness for him to go to the glass like that and then step up to the free throw line and make two with that type of pressure is not easy. Very proud of him, but we had numerous guys.”

The play that Holder made was an impressive one, though.

Leading up to it, the teams traded leads 17 times and tied another 10 times. The Devils carried a 41-37 advantage into the half and went ahead 55-46 to widen the gap in the second half before Colorado promptly bounced back with a 10-0 run to regain the lead.

From there, the contest began to take on the feel of one that might be decided by who had the ball last. Trailing 76-75 in the final minute, White made a layup to put the Buffaloes back on top with 20 seconds to go.

Out of the ensuing timeout, the Sun Devils put the ball in Graham’s hands. The senior launched a three that was off the mark, but Holder bolted in from out of nowhere to wrestle away the rebound, fire up a shot and draw a foul with less than two seconds left on the clock. He then finished the job by burying both free throws, and Justice was able to slap away Colorado’s last-ditch, halfcourt heave as the buzzer sounded.

“I shot a lot of free throws last night because I haven’t been shooting as well as I want to,” Holder explained. “I got a routine in my head, so I just stuck with it. And if they didn’t fall, I just knew it wasn’t my night. But luckily they went in.”

UP NEXT

Arizona State will host Utah at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Colorado travels to Tucson to take on Arizona.

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