(Photo courtesy: Steve Rodriguez/ASU Athletics)
Those who stayed up late Thursday night were rewarded with a tight and physical game that saw Jordan Bachynski break the Pac-12 career blocks record as Arizona State took down the Oregon State Beavers 86-82 in overtime.
Once the matchup got going, the game ran itself into what some fans like to call “free basketball.” This extra five minutes of overtime play came after OSU’s Roberto Nelson sank a layup to tie the game at 64-64 with 20 seconds remaining in the game.
Jahii Carson then dribbled down the clock, went to the right elbow and missed what would have been the game winning jump shot as time expired.
Overtime consisted of ASU making three-pointers early and executing methodical ball movement late.
The sequence of a Bo Barnes interior layup, Jonathan Gilling wing three, and just enough conversions at the charity stripe allowed the Sun Devils to keep the Beavers’ comeback at bay.
The first half was not so much sloppy, but rather a sluggish 20 minutes of play without any real constant flow.
That lack of flow and offense led to the Sun Devils walking into the locker room at halftime down 29-26.
“One thing’s for certain we made more shots,” head coach Herb Sendek said of his team’s second half energy. “We just had a hard time converting in the first half.”
It was a combination of blurring quickness from Carson, seemingly immovable stability from Bachynski inside, and patience from Jermaine Marshall to erode away on the defense that headed the Sun Devils’ second half resurgence.
Carson scored 23 points while Marshall added 25 ticks in the points column and Bachynski finished with 17 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks.
Balanced scoring amongst the trio of starters helped make the lowly 11 points bench irrelevant.
All of Bachynski’s 17 points were needed on the night; however, it was his presence down in the painted area that may have been his most firm mark on the basketball game.
“It’s huge I’m honored to hold that title,” Bachynski said of his new record.
It’s a credit to ASU that they were able to finish off the last three minutes of overtime without Bachynski’s 7-foot-2 stature after he fouled out.
It deserves to be mentioned that Thursday was James Harden night. In commemoration of the alumnus the student section took a vow of silence until the 13th point was scored.
Some fans may remember last season’s James Harden night where ASU lost to Washington 68-59. After that game ASU players admitted the lack of decibels rattled them and their play.
“It would be my recommendation that we never do that don’t cheer stuff because I think that hurts the whole team,” Sendek said. “It doesn’t work in my opinion. I would be an advocate of never doing that.”
ASU was apparently not rattled and passed the test of battle in this game as they registered their second overtime win in this aging season.
The Sun Devils play next against the University of Oregon Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.
You can reach this author via email caneely@asu.edu or on twitter @cammeronneely.
