Men's hoops defeat Trojans, 56-52
Arizona State (9-20, 5-12) secured a dramatic 56-52 victory over the USC Trojans (6-23, 1-15), Feb. 25, at Wells Fargo Arena. Through moments of solid basketball, ASU ground out an important team victory and their ninth win of the season.
Chris Colvin drove through the lane and acrobatically tossed a shot up with two seconds remaining on the shot clock. The made shot along with made free throw put the Sun Devils up by four with only 19 seconds remaining. ASU's solid defense held on for the win.
Jordan Bachynski played the best game of his ASU career as he scored a career high 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds, unfortunately falling just short of his first career double-double. Trent Lockett contributed 11 points and Chris Colvin put up eight.
The Sun Devils grabbed an early lead behind Bachynski's solid play and they were able to put together a good lead by midway in the half. USC found their way back though as they took advantage of ASU's turnovers. The Sun Devils led 31-26 at the half.
A close second half saw six lead changes and sloppy shooting from both teams. Over a stretch of seven minutes late in the game the Sun Devils did not score a point but their defense held the Trojans to only three points during that stretch. The heroics of Chris Colvin broke the scoreless stretch with seconds remaining and the defense held on.
ASU shot 46.2 percent (18 of 39) from the field, 50 percent (5 of 10) from behind the arc. The Sun Devils once again did well in the rebound department grabbing 36 to USC's 20. The size advantage of Jordan Bachynski was evident in the paint as the offense ran through Bachynski for much of the game and he answered playing arguably the best game of his career.
The Trojans shot 39.6 percent (19 of 48) as a team, 28.6 percent (6 of 21) from three. Byron Wesley led the USC with 22 points and Maurice Jones added 12.
Arizona State takes on the rival Arizona Wildcats in the State Farm Territorial Cup Series at 1:30 p.m., MT, March 4, at Wells Fargo Arena.
By Dushan Mladenovic
Sun Devil Athletics Media Relations