Coming off a tough loss to No. 14 Arizona, the feeling was that No. 4 ASU would bounce back against an average Colorado team. However, that was not the case Thursday night in Boulder.
The Sun Devils (12-2, 0-2 Pac-12) dropped their second straight road game, 90-81, after going cold offensively. They finished the game shooting 36 percent from the field and 9-for-34 from the three-point line. ASU's bench was outscored 38-12 as well.
Junior guard Namon Wright was exceptional for Colorado (9-6, 1-2 Pac-12), as he embraced the moment and finished with 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting. This included the breakaway dunk to give his team the lead 57-54 with eight minutes left – Colorado's first lead of the game.
The momentum shift lasted from that point onward, as ASU failed to take regain the lead, with the entire Sun Devils backcourt struggling mightily.
Senior guard Tra Holder, despite finishing with a game-high 24 points, shot 2-for-9 from beyond the arc. Senior guards Kodi Justice and Shannon Evans II finished shooting a combined 8-for-26 from the field (27 points). The trio shot 33 percent from the field and 32 percent from long distance.
Still, with five seconds to go in regulation, ASU managed to tie the game and force overtime.
After Evans missed a three to give his team the lead, sophomore forward Mickey Mitchell grabbed the offensive rebound and dunked the ball to tie the game at 74. He finished the game with 8 points and 10 rebounds, but fouled out in overtime.
But Colorado held off any potential ASU surge in overtime. With ASU within two points at the 3:39 mark, senior guard George King knocked down a crucial three to put the Buffalo ahead 79-74. He finished with 18 points and nine rebounds.
ASU’s freshman guard Remy Martin later knocked down a three to cut the lead to 83-81 with 55 seconds left. But the Sun Devils failed to make a jumper time after time and Colorado made its last seven free throws to ice the game and upset ASU at home.
Up Next:
No. 4 ASU looks to bounce back once again when they face Utah (10-4, 2-1 Pac-12) on Sunday. Tip-off is at 6pm MT on ESPNU.
Reach the reporter at fcorral1@asu.edu or follow @felipecorraljr on Twitter.
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