(Photo: Scotty Bara/WCSN)
It’s March; That’s the only explanation.
After leading by as many as 14 points in the second half, Arizona State was eliminated in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament by the USC Trojans, 64-67.
The Trojans outscored ASU 21-4 down the stretch, finally taking the lead after Darion Clark converted a layup with 2:04 remaining in the game.
“I don’t really know how to explain (the lead) evaporated so quickly,” ASU senior forward Shaquielle McKissic said. “Besides a lack of hustle, energy and effort… I don’t know how that happened.”
USC freshman guard Elijah Stewart led the way for the Trojans, racking up 27 points on 8-for-14 shooting, including 6-for-9 from beyond the arc. He was helped by fellow freshman and Las Vegas-native guard Julian Jacobs, who tallied 10 of his 12 points in the second half.
“Elijah Stewart and Julian Jacobs are much better players now than they were a month-and-a-half ago,” USC head coach Andy Enfield said.
With 11 seconds remaining and ASU down by one point, McKissic was blocked at the rim by sophomore forward Nikola Jovanovic, essentially ending ASU’s tournament bid.
The loss was an extreme disappointment for the Sun Devils, who came into the game as the fifth seed and winners of five of its last seven matchups. All things considered, ASU had every reason to win the game. The Sun Devils outscored USC in the paint (34-24), won the rebounding battle (39-34) and committed seven fewer turnovers than the Trojans.
“We were getting looks. We just couldn’t make any,” ASU senior forward Bo Barnes said. “But we weren’t getting stops at the other end which was the biggest thing that hurt us.”
What ASU could not overcome, however, was 30.3 percent shooting effort in the second half. Most of the offensive issues stemmed from strong defensive play by USC when Enfield switched his team into a zone that gave ASU fits.
“Our zone’s been very good for us this last month of the season,” Enfield said. “Our guys are really learning how to switch and recover, and then rebound out of it, and I thought that was effective because we were active in it.”
While the Sun Devils struggled to score, USC found its groove. The Trojans shot 57.7 percent in the final 20 minutes to best the fifth-seeded Sun Devils.
“Our defense certainly did not meet standards or expectations in the second half,” Sendek said.
For ASU, the loss marks the second-consecutive year the team has been ousted in its first game of the Pac-12 Tournament, last season losing to Stanford in the quarterfinals after earning a first-round bye.
The Trojans will take on UCLA in the quarterfinals at 2:30 p.m. in the MGM Grand Garden Arena. ASU’s next game is nowhere near guaranteed, but early predictions have the Sun Devils making an NIT Tournament bid.
“We lost a close game today, and that never feels good,” Sendek said. “But I don’t think that, in it of itself, takes away from the progress they’ve made and the efforts they’ve had with some great wins through this season as well.”
You can reach Zac Pacleb on Twitter @ZacPacleb or via email at zacpacleb@gmail.com
