TEMPE — On a Monday night, in its third game in eight days and with a flight the next morning at 5 a.m. Arizona State (3-1) welcomed Georgia State (1-4) at Desert Financial Arena.
It had all the makings of a “trap game.”
The circumstances almost tripped up the Sun Devils, who wrapped up their four-game homestand with a 75-62 win against the Panthers, less than 12 hours before traveling to Hawaii. Sparky entered the game coming off a 77-65 loss against No. 19 Gonzaga three days prior.
“This was like a perfect trap game for us, just based on everything we have going,” Hurley said. “The Gonzaga game, what that took out of us, and then getting ready to head out tomorrow morning, early to go to Hawaii.”
Hurley’s words came true in the first half, as the Sun Devils struggled from the 3-point line early on. The Maroon and Gold, who made ten 3-pointers on Friday, shot just 2-for-14 from the line in the opening half. Junior forward Andrija Grbovic bucketed the first of the night for ASU 13 minutes into the contest.
Meanwhile, the Panthers shot 50% from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes. It allowed the visitors to take a 27-22 lead with eight minutes to play in the first half. Junior guard Malachi Brown, senior guard Ayouba Berthe and freshman guard Christopher Jones all chipped in by scoring three straight from behind the line.
Despite ASU’s struggles from the 3-point line, the Sun Devils started closing the deficit by scoring four of their next four field goals.
Grbovic and senior guard Moe Odum scored on back-to-back threes to put the hosts up 32-27 after 10 unanswered points. Odum finished the night with a season-high 24 points in addition to adding five rebounds and nine assists.
But Sparky’s momentum ran cold, as Georgia State finished the half on a 12-2 run. Hurley’s side went into the break down 39-34, going scoreless in the final 4:44 minutes.
Georgia State started the second half where it left off — hot from the 3-point line. The Panthers scored three straight in the first three minutes following halftime, forcing Hurley to use his first timeout as his side trailed 48-37.
Needing a spark, Hurley turned to one of his energizers off the bench: senior guard Anthony “Pig” Johnson.
The 6-foot-3 guard from Alabama tallied zero points in the first half, but quickly made his mark on the game out of the break.
The guard brought the home crowd to its feet by scoring seven straight points to cut the lead down to eight. Johnson added two more buckets, while Odum tied the game with a two-point jumper.
“Our activity picked up considerably on defense,” Hurley said on the second-half comeback. “Pig stole the ball a few times and dunked it. The crowd got into it, and then we got more confidence. You can tell they were very tentative with how they were handling the pressure, so that even empowered us more to try and be more disruptive in it.”
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Odum and junior guard Bryce Ford put Sparky up 60-55, and ASU never looked back. Hurley’s side ripped off a 16-1 run in less than four minutes and forced Georgia State into three turnovers.
“I thought (sophomore guard) Noah (Meeusen) and Pig specifically, just what they did in that stretch defensively, turned the game around for us,” Hurley said.
Johnson finished with 13 points, helping the Sun Devils complete an 11-point comeback to finish with a 13-point win.
The win marks the ninth time Hurley has started 3-1 or better in his ASU tenure. Up next, the team will travel across the Pacific Ocean to face Hawaii on Thursday at 10 p.m. MST.
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