Despite scoring droughts, Arizona State comes out on top of Washing State, winning 64-59

LAS VEGAS –– The 9th seed Washington State Cougars and the 8th seed Arizona State Sun Devils started off slow, taking almost a full two minutes to land the first bucket. The first point on the board was a successful free throw attempt from WSU’s center, Efe Abogidi.

Through the first seven and a half minutes of the half, both teams were shooting an abysmal 0 percent on three-pointers until Remy Martin, Arizona State guard, knocked one down from the left-wing.

ASU started to build their lead of Martin’s three extending it to as much as __ during the half. However, with both teams trading buckets as the half progressed, it was never a runaway game. 

With about 10 minutes remaining in the half, Arizona State went on a scoring drought that lasted for over four minutes allowing Washing State to go on a 7-0 run.

Scoring droughts and turnovers plagued both teams, each shooting under 40 percent from the field, throughout the entirety of the first half. However, Arizona State was able to walk away on top at halftime, leading 25-24.

“It was a battle of wills, there was a ton of pressure from both sides,” said Washington State’s Head Coach on the struggles that his team faced throughout the game.

The second half started off very similarly to the first, with Washington State scoring the only points in the first two minutes. Arizona State continued its scoring struggles, remaining at 25 allowing WSU to go on an 8 point scoring run before the Sun Devils’ Kimani Lawrence laid in an easy basket.

Intensity increased as both Washington State and Arizona State pushed the ball down the court quickly and bettered their scoring abilities. Despite these improvements to the teams’ offenses, turnover issues persisted for the duration of the second half.

The Cougars’ shooting percentage improved to 41 percent and the Sun Devils improved to 43 percent for the overall game. The score remained extremely close for the entirety of the 40 minutes, with the biggest lead being only 7 points.

In the end, Arizona State defeated Washington State 64 to 59. Sun Devil senior guard Alonzo Verge Jr led the team to a victory over the Cougars with 27 points along with sophomore guard Jaelen House’s 6 rebounds and 5 assists. 

“We pick up full-court, we play hard, we’re on-demand but we have to be scrappy and battle like that,” Arizona State Head Coach Bobby Hurley said following the game about his team’s physicality.

After walking away with the win, Arizona State will prepare to play tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. against the #1 seed University of Oregon Ducks. The last time these two teams met was on February 11, when UO defeated ASU by 11 points.