Senior Shaquielle McKissic charges the goal against the USC Trojans defense on Feb. 22, 2015, at the Wells Fargo Arena. The Sun Devils would go on to win the back-and-forth game in the last minute of the second half. (J. Bauer-Leffler/The State Press)With its NCAA Tournament hopes hanging in the balance, the ASU men's basketball team had to face a challenge at the Jon Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City. After 40 one-sided minutes, the hopes have been all but dashed.
The Sun Devils (15-13, 7-8 Pac-12) fell to Utah 83-41 Thursday night. ASU never led in the game.
Utes senior guard Delon Wright led all scorers with 12 points and contributed five rebounds, four assists, three steal and three blocks.
The Utes controlled the game from the opening tip-off all the way to the final buzzer sounded.
Utah scored the first eight points of the game, suffocating ASU every time it had possession.
The Sun Devils turned the ball over 14 times in the game, 10 of them came in the first half, resulting in 21 points.
In the first half, the Utes blocked more shots (10) than the Sun Devils made (9), illustrating the true dominance.
Utah was balanced in its offensive attack, with 11 players scoring in the game.
In the second half, the rout continued. While ASU did play better on both ends of the floor, Utah extended its lead and won the game going away.
ASU finished shooting just 28 percent from the floor, compared to 63 percent for the Utes. The Sun Devils were sufficiently dominated by Utah the entire way.
ASU will attempt to split the weekend Sunday night in Colorado.
Reach the reporter at mtonis@asu.edu or follow @Tonis_The_Tiger on Twitter.
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