Following an emotional loss to its crosstown rival last Saturday, Arizona State (12-10, 3-8 Big 12) looked to get back in the win column against Kansas State (11-11, 5-6 Big 12).
And after making a valiant run to erase a double-digit deficit late against the Wildcats, the Sun Devils had a chance to steal a victory at home. Phenom freshman forward Jayden Quaintance stepped up to the charity stripe to shoot two free throws with his team down one.
However, he missed both free throws, Kansas State corralled the rebound and the Wildcats threw it upcourt before any ASU player could foul, resulting in a 71-70 Sun Devil loss.
“I was shocked that we had a chance to win,” ASU head coach Hurley said. “Jayden has had such a great season for us, such a young player. It’s a lot to put on his shoulders to make those at that moment.”
Early on, it seemed as though the Sun Devils might run away with a blowout victory. Kansas State didn’t score their first bucket of the game until six minutes and 57 seconds had already run off the clock.
Just after the second media timeout, an old-fashioned three-point play converted by senior guard Alston Mason made it 18-2 in favor of ASU with 11:43 remaining in the first half.
Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang appeared frustrated on the bench and had a spirited conversation with senior forward Coleman Hawkins, with his back turned to the play behind him.
From that point on, the Wildcats flipped a switch and ruled the half. They finished the final eleven minutes and change of the half on a 33-15 run to take a 35-32 lead into halftime.
The Devils started off hot from deep but cooled down as the half went on. They became enamored with the three-point shot, as 25 of their 32 field goal attempts in the first half came from distance.
“Guys that I expect to take those shots, we can’t win if a higher percentage of them don’t go in,” Hurley said.
The Wildcats emerged with the same burning fire to start the second half. They went on a 13-3 run in the first seven minutes and held a 48-35 lead at one point.
“They shot 14 of 20 I think, in that last part of the first half,” Hurley said. “So we stopped playing defense too.”
During this stretch, it quickly felt like ASU completely lost control of the game, with even a brief but audible “fire Bobby” chant coming from the student section.
Eventually, ASU slowly crawled back into it as the half went along after finally slowing down the Wildcats’ offense.
Then, in a 53-49 game, Sun Devil senior guard Adam Miller and Wildcat junior guard Dug McDaniel shared a heated exchange. It turned out that Miller had slapped McDaniel and was given a flagrant two-foul. Therefore ejecting him from the game.
Following the scuffle, the Cats and Devils went back and forth, trading blows. ASU initiated a full-court press that the Wildcats easily broke, which led to an alley-oop slam by senior forward David N’Guessan to make it 62-56.
ASU responded with a quick 7-0 run, topped off by a fast break slam from Quaintance.
A late Wildcat three from Hawkins seemed like it could be the dagger. But Mason scored and converted a three-point play on the other end to make it 71-70 Wildcats.
After a mustering stop, the Sun Devils had a chance. On the final Sun Devil possession, Quaintance was fouled on a dunk attempt with only 4.1 seconds remaining.
He came into the game just under 52% from the line on the season and was 1-4 on the night.
In a pressure situation, the season-long Sun Devil free throw shooting woes reared its ugly head, as Quaintance missed both free throws to squash any hopes of a Tuesday night comeback in Tempe.
“It just comes down to finishing games, we started off strong,” senior guard Alston Mason said. “Just in between, we just kind of fell apart as a team.”
It proved to be another heartbreaking loss for the Sun Devils, who continue an ugly downward spiral in conference play. A win over the Wildcats, who just took down No. 8 Iowa State on Saturday, could have provided a substantial confidence boost for Hurley’s squad.
Instead, the squad will now look to right the ship on the road against Oklahoma State on Saturday, Feb. 9 at noon MST.
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