Martin, ASU topple Stanford in thriller
Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley has been waiting for his team to put together 40 minutes of good basketball. While it’s probably too late for the Sun Devils to make a run at a Pac-12 regular season title, they did make a statement, gutting out a 79-75 win over Stanford on Saturday at Desert Financial Arena.
It marks the first back-to-back wins for ASU since wins over Houston Baptist (Nov. 29) and California (Dec. 3).
It wasn’t that long ago the Sun Devils were mired in a six-game losing streak, four of those decided in the closing seconds. They finally broke through against Cal, but this was a far more noteworthy feat given the caliber of the opponent.
Stanford came in without three starters in senior guards Bryce Wills and Daeshon Davis and freshman standout Ziaire Williams but does boast the Pac-12’s leading scorer in senior forward Oscar da Silva. The Cardinal also handed UCLA its first conference loss and won at Arizona in the last week without the trio.
“We talked to the team about losing the lead and we’ve been here before,” Hurley said. “The last game — the Cal game sure helped. We know how to get things done. Nice to see we can beat a really good team tonight. I know they didn’t have those guys but they have a good structure in how they play and they have really good bigs that are a difficult matchup problem for us.”
The Sun Devils (6-8, 3-5) led much of the game only to see Stanford (10-6, 6-4) go back ahead 75-74 with on a jumper by Michael O’Connell with 1:15 left.
Senior Kimani Lawrence came up huge in the last two minutes. Just 30 seconds after making two free throws that put ASU up 74-73, he completed a 3-point play with 41 seconds left that put the Sun Devils in front, 77-75.
Much of the success ASU had came on the strength of its defense. The Sun Devils forced 20 turnovers and scored 29 points off those. The last came when Remy Martin stripped the ball from O’Connell with 16.4 seconds left and ASU clinging to a two-point lead.
But nothing has come easy for Hurley’s squad this year. Martin, an 85 percent free-throw shooter, was fouled by O’Connell and missed the front end of the 1-and-1 giving Stanford life with eight seconds left.
After a timeout the Cardinal did the expected thing and drew up a play for da Silva. But Lawrence defended him will and da Silva’s shot lipped off the rim. ASU’s Alonzo Verge was fouled in the scramble for the loose ball and he put the game away with a pair of free throws with one second left.
“I liked our resiliency tonight, how we fought. Losing the lead inside of four minutes after we had it most of the game. It was a gut check moment. We made some nice plays down the stretch,” Hurley said.
There were a lot of standouts as five ASU players finished in double figures led by Martin who netted 23 on an efficient 9-for-15 showing from the field. He also collected six assists and had four steals in perhaps his best game of the season.
“I’ve been going through a lot,” Martin said. “But I’m just starting to figure it out and become myself and with the help of my teammates and the coaching staff, it’s been a lot easier. But things happen in life and you just got to figure out how to maneuver around them. That’s the process I’m in now and I think I’m OK.”
Josh Christopher tallied 15 points with Marcus Bagley, Jalen Graham and Verge all factoring in with 12. Verge also had four assists and two steals in his second game coming off the bench.
Hurley praised the play of Verge and his acceptance of his role as the sixth man. Of course winning helps.
“I’m really willing to do anything that helps us win,” Verge said. “And if that’s something that helps us win games, I’m willing to do it. Me and (ASU) coach (Bobby Hurley) had a talk and he just talked to me and let me know, and I’m willing to make those sacrifices for my guys and my team.”
The Cardinal made 31 of 34 free throws, a disparity Hurley was asked about after the game because his team had just 17, making 15 of those. In the second half the Cardinal went eight minutes without a bucket but cut into the deficit just because of the repeated trips to the line.
“I’m just going to say I’m very pleased with our 15 of 17 there. That’s all I’m going to say on that. I’m in a pretty good headspace because of the win so I’ll leave it at that.”
For the second straight game ASU shot 50 percent (29-for-58).
Stanford shot 45 percent (21-for-57) and had 34-24 advantage on the boards, starting four players 6-7 or taller. Jaiden Delaire had a team high 21 while da Silva scored 18 with 11 rebounds.