ASU can’t come back:

The Sun Devils’ hopes of reaching the NCAA Tournament take a major shot after they fail to rally and fall to the Trojans in Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES — With the game on the line, Jahii Carson flashed down the court, the final seconds ticking, and pulled up from about 35 feet. The shot felt good.

“Didn’t have much time, and I had to make a quick decision,” the Arizona State freshman point guard said. “Just a little bit too hard.”

In some ways that has been the story of ASU’s season. A little too muchof this, a little too muchof that. Just in Pac-12 play alone, the Sun Devils have lost six games by five or fewer points. Saturday’s 57-56 loss at USC was just the latest, a setback for a team that could not afford one.

Losing for the fifth time in seven games, ASU dropped to 20-10 and 9-8 in the Pac-12. The Sun Devils visit rival Arizona on Saturday then head to Las Vegas for the Pac-12 Tournament. Sometime between now and then, they need to find their confidence. The recent misfortune — not to mention life on the NCAA Tournament bubble—has worn them down.

“It does a toll on you emotionally, just because you work so hard and you grind out so much (for) 40 minutes and then (for it) to come down and potentially hit a game-winning shot, it’s tough losing like that,” senior Carrick Felix said.

Saturday’s game, played in front of 4,034 fans, featured a slow start, a second-half rally and a questionable call in the final minutes.

The Galen Center, which opened in 2006, hasn’t treated ASU well. Former ASU All-American James Harden never won here. In 2010, an ASU team that eventually finished second in the Pac-10 scored just 37 points in the Galen Center, fewest in the Herb Sendek era.

The Sun Devils didn’t post a win here until last year, when a short- handed unit — three players were suspended — won 62-53. Perhaps the past failures explain Saturday’s slow start. Or maybe it was a hangover effect from Wednesday’s overtime loss at UCLA.

Whatever the reason, ASU came out flat, falling into a 28-9 hole.

“We have to create our own energy, and we didn’t do that at first,” Carson said. “They came out and hit us right in the chops.”

Still, ASU chipped away. The Sun Devils were within 11 at halftime and pulled within 51-45 with 5:40 to go. Senior guard Chris Colvin provided a spark. His 3-point play brought ASU to within five. After both teams traded baskets, Colvin scored again to bring ASU to within 55-52 with 53 seconds left.

Then came the questionable call — one that didn’t decide the game, but certainly didn’t help the Sun Devils. After a timeout, USC’s J.T. Terrell air-balled a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the shot clock. USC’s Eric Wise rebounded and a whistle blew. Unsure to call a shotclock violation or a foul, the officials reviewed the play and ruled ASU’s Jordan Bachynski fouled Wise in the act of shooting, giving him two shots.

“They said they called the foul with a tenth-of-a-second difference between the shot clock and the game clock,” Sendek said. “… My question was, ‘How do you attempt a shot in a tenth of a second?’ I didn’t get an explanation.”

Said USC coach Bob Cantu: “We were preparing to go on defense, knowing we were up three. Then we found out we got the free throws.”

Wise hit both foul shots, putting USC up five, but ASU didn’t quit. Carson scored in five seconds, cutting the margin to 3. After a USC turnover, the freshman scored again, bringing ASU to within 57-56. The Sun Devils fouled Wise with four seconds left. He missed the first free throw of a 1-and-1, giving Carson four seconds to win the game. Just a little too long. “Everyone knew (from the beginning) that the schedule was going to play out very difficult down at the end,” Sendek said. “… We’re two possessions away from having two wins this weekend.”

Carson led ASU with 23 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Bachynski added 17 points, while Colvin contributed 10 points, three rebounds, three assists and four steals off the bench. ASU was 1 of 12 from 3-point range.

On USC’s Senior Day, Wise led the Trojans (14-15, 9-7) with 12 points. Byron Wesley added 10.

“All we can do is keep battling,” Sendek said. “(Almost) every game we’ve lost has been a close game. Our guys haven’t folded the tent once.”