What a difference a few days makes.
Days after Arizona State lost controversially to UCLA on Wednesday, the Devils bounced back on Saturday to defeat the USC Trojans 82-67.
The Sun Devils scored 27 fastbreak points and hit 14/19 free throws on way to victory. Jose Perez led the way with 20 points, Frankie Collins and Jamiya Neal scored 17 each and Alonzo Gaffney put up 11. Bryant Slebangue was a man on a mission Saturday, tallying 13 rebounds, nine of which were on the offensive end.
“He symbolized how the guys approached the game,” Hurley said. “He was relentless going after the ball. If you missed the shot, he was the first guy to get it again until he completed the play. I’ve never really looked at a stat sheet in all my years of doing this and seeing nine offensive rebounds at halftime.”
Collins helped set the tone with five assists and six steals in the first half to pace the Devils, helping Perez and Neal get off to hot starts.
“That’s unheard of,” Perez said of Collins’ steal total.
There were questions how the Sun Devils would respond after Wednesday’s tough night. Hurley wasn’t even sure.
“I thought it wold be tough because I was wondering about how fragile we could be with our psyche and what it does, the frustration, feeling devastated, feeling their confidence shaken and all those things happen when you lose in that way.
“Having an extra day in between helped us pick up the pieces after a hard loss on Wednesday night.”
The Sun Devils now head to the Oregon schools next week. Arizona State has been 3-6 away from Desert Financial Arena, and will need key wins on the road to help gain ground for a postseason bid.
They’ll look for that same tenacity and resilience they had on Saturday to help them at Oregon.
Jordan Hamm
