LOS ANGELES – Positioned on opposing sidelines, Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley and UCLA coach Mick Cronin paced back and forth in front of their benches, mixing in an occasional comment of disapproval toward the officiating crew. On one windy Wednesday evening in Westwood, West Coast college basketball seemed back to normal.
For 46 years, the Sun Devils and Bruins played annually as members of the Pacific Conference, at one point the Pac-10, then the Pac-12. Despite conference realignment tearing the schools apart – ASU heading to the Big 12 and UCLA to the Big Ten – a December non-conference affair, under the bright lights of Pauley Pavilion, offered a chance to reignite the embers of disdain between former Pac-12 foes.
To Hurley’s dismay, the norm for his program against UCLA hasn’t entailed success. The trend continued on Wednesday night, as ASU fell to the Bruins 90-77, dropping Hurley’s record against UCLA to 5-11.
“It was important for us as a staff and our administration to try to schedule our former Pac-12 partners and to maintain those relationships as best we can,” Hurley said. “I think that’s something that’s meaningful. West Coast basketball can’t just disappear. … All the years I’ve been at Arizona State, it’s always been a thrill for me to come and coach in this building (Pauley Pavilion) with all the great players and teams that played here.”
On a night where Sparky (9-3) mostly matched the Bruins (8-3) in the majority of the categories, the large disparity in efficiency from the 3-point line between the squads stuck out like a sore thumb.
Arizona State, which entered the night as the nation’s 22nd-most efficient team from behind the arc (39.2%), shot just 4-for-26 from deep.
Coming into the midweek contest, the Bruins ranked 318th in possessions per game (68.6) in Division I – a stark contrast to the Sun Devils, who sat at 134th in possessions per game.
The host’s slow tempo and high efficiency seemed to affect ASU in the first half, as it couldn’t develop a rhythm offensively, shooting just 33% from the field in the first 20 minutes.
“If you keep taking the ball out of the net, or they’re shooting free throws, it’s going to be hard to getting the transition game going,” Hurley said. “We had a couple of stretches in the second half where we were showing signs of life on defense, and it translated to getting some baskets, but it wasn’t enough.”
Meanwhile, the Bruins methodically dissected the Maroon and Gold’s defense and found open shooters along the 3-point line. Unlike Arizona State, UCLA flourished from long range, posting a season high in made 3-pointers. It shot 14-for-26 from beyond the arc and nailed some timely triples down the stretch to stave off some late pushes from the visitors.
“We had lapses on defense today, and it was pretty consistent today,” Hurley said. “You allow a team to shoot 14 out of 26 from three in a game, (and) you’re not going to win many games like that. We failed to get to shooters. We lost guys in transition, and they always had a response.
“If we can’t figure out a consistent way to guard and defend and get stops, then we’re not going to reach the potential that we hope we can reach.”
All six of UCLA senior guard Skyy Clark’s made baskets came from long distance, as he finished shooting 60% from the 3-point line and hit a trio of treys, including 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions, in the final 10 minutes to help put the game on ice.
Skyy Clark knocked down 6️⃣ threes in @UCLAMBB’s 90–77 victory over Arizona State 🎯
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) December 18, 2025
Here's all 18 points 👇 pic.twitter.com/HqVgu6YIu6
The depletion of ASU’s backcourt didn’t help the Sun Devils’ comeback effort. The Sun Devils entered the halftime break trailing 45-33 and down two of its guards – Bryce Ford didn’t suit up, while sophomore guard Trevor Best went down with an injury to his right leg. Additionally, senior guard Anthony “Pig” Johnson accumulated three fouls before the end of the first half.
Multiple Sun Devils found themselves in foul trouble throughout the night, in a game where whistles blew frequently.
Still, like it’s shown all season long, ASU refused to back down. It cut the Bruins’ lead down to a mere five points with just under 10 minutes to play in regulation, 65-60.
“Our sentence this year is be relentless (and) never give up,” sophomore guard Noah Meeusen, who finished with eight points, said. “So we just (have) got to keep going for 40 minutes.”
Johnson led the resurgent charge with 17 of his team-high 20 points coming in the second half. With multiple aggressive, downhill drives toward the basket, he earned 14 free throws, which he all made.
It contributed to a historic night for Arizona State from the charity stripe, as the Sun Devils recorded their second-highest free-throw percentage (min. 15 attempts) in program history at 96.2%, shooting 25-for-26.
The first and only miss for ASU from the free-throw line?
A clank off the iron from senior guard Moe Odum – an 87.7% free-throw shooter – on ASU’s final free-throw of the game.
Even after ASU’s late rally, it couldn’t get over the hump, as UCLA senior point guard Donovan Dent helped calm the waters for his squad. He tallied 20 points for the Bruins, sinking multiple contested shots and finishing 9-for-17 from the field.
"That is ridiculous!"
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) December 18, 2025
This cross up by @UCLAMBB's Donovan Dent had the defender stuck 😤 pic.twitter.com/GmzOARtCMr
Down the stretch, he connected with Clark on multiple occasions, one of which led to the dagger 3-pointer to put UCLA back up double-digits and sink Sparky.
Although the Sun Devils couldn’t steal a win in Pauley, Hurley believes the experience will help his squad continue to grow heading toward Big 12 play.
“I easily could have bought six games this year, seven games, and played a few hard games,” Hurley said. “But no, we’re here (at UCLA) … You’ve got to go play people. You’ve got to get exposed a little bit. You’ve got to get punched in the mouth. But I think we’ll respond.”
Arizona State will round out its non-conference slate at home against the Oregon State Beavers on Sunday, Dec. 21, at 1 p.m. MST.
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