Huskies Pummel ASU for a Half, Almost Don't Finish the Job

Mike Hopkins' team let a 25-point lead slip away before winning in overtime.

People wondered how the Arizona State basketball team would respond after losing by 45 points to Arizona the previous Saturday night.

For a half, not well.

Yet the Washington Huskies were the ones who nearly left the Desert Financial Center in Tempe all red-faced and embarrassed, letting a 25-point lead slip away before escaping with an 84-82 overtime victory on Thursday night.

With 32.2 seconds remaining in the extra session, the UW's 7-foot-1 Braxton Meah calmly connected on a pair of free throws that broke a tie at 82 and won it.

Still, the Sun Devils had a pair of close-in shots inside the final three seconds that wouldn't go down before a most schizophrenic game was done.

"Wasn't perfect," UW coach Mike Hopkins said. "But we found a way."

For the longest time, the Huskies (15-12 overall, 7-9 Pac-12) were helpless to change the momentum while ASU coach Bobby Hurley proved to be a master at it — replacing his entire starting lineup with five new players just a minute and a half into the second half.

From a 49-24 deficit, the Sun Devils (13-14, 7-9) used a mix of scrubs and first-teamers to chip away all the way to the end of regulation, where Frankie Collins tied the game at 75 by dropping in layin with 6.9 seconds left.

ASU even took the lead twice in overtime but couldn't finish the job and the Huskies snuck away with a win that should have been a lot easier than it was.

"I know Coach Hurley, especially when he makes the subs," Hopkins said. "When you watch Coach Hurley's teams, they're going to keep fricking fighting."

Senior forward Keion Brooks led the Huskies with 21 points and reserve sophomore guard Koren Johnson backed him with 17 points — his third consecutive productive outing — while Meah contributed 13 points and 14 rebounds, though he connected on just 3 of 7 free throws, but two that mattered most.

With the positive outcome, the Huskies snapped a three-game losing streak to the Sun Devils and beat them on their home floor, where they were 9-3 coming in, in the final regular-season conference match-up between these teams before everyone changes leagues.

Joe Camporeale/USA TODAY Sports

Over the first 41 and a half minutes, the UW trailed only once, at 1-0 when Sun Devils center Shawn Phillips Jr. connected on one of a pair of free throws just 18 seconds into the contest.

Brooks and Johnson combined for 26 first-half points to do most of the damage as the Huskies took control over a team that played miserably, especially on offense, and the UW steadily pulled away for a 45-24 advantage at the break.

The Huskies scored the final 16 points of the half and the first four after intermission to build their largest lead at 49-24 with 18:30 left on the clock. 

That's when Hurley, who had been angry and yelling much of the evening, yanked all of his starters and let the other guys make try to make a game out of it, gradually subbing his regulars back into the action.

Collins, who led ASU with 21 points, brought his team within 70-68 with a 3-pointer with 1:20 remaining and 73-71 with a deep trey with 33.8 seconds left before tying things up at 75 with his layin near the buzzer.

However, the 6-foot-1 junior guard from Sacramento, California, and a former Michigan player, missed three of four free throws inside the final 30.2 seconds of regulation and he fouled early in the overtime and the heroic comeback was blunted.

The Huskies, taking a few big gulps, now move to Tucson to face fourth-ranked Arizona (20-6, 11-4) on Saturday night. 

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