ASU men's basketball fell 91-73 to Oregon on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Men's Basketball Tournament in Las Vegas on Thursday, marking the conclusion of its season.
Despite beginning the season ranked No. 18, ASU's highest preseason mark since 2008, the team will finish with an 11-14 record, the worst since the 2011-12 season by winning percentage.
Eighth-seeded ASU was competitive with top-seeded Oregon for much of the first half, as the game was at one point tied at 19-19. However, ASU struggled to keep up with Oregon's explosive offense from that point, as it ended the period trailing by eight and never significantly decreased the deficit in the second half.
The Sun Devils trailed by as much as 24 points in the second half.
Senior guard Alonzo Verge Jr. once again led the team's production, recording 28 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
Senior guard Remy Martin finished with 16 points that all came in the second half, his first time scoring in double digits in ASU's last four games.
Senior forward Kimani Lawrence suffered a hamstring injury in the second half, meaning the team finished its season without three of its top six scorers, as freshmen Josh Christopher and Marcus Bagley were both out, as well.
Oregon put on an offensive clinic, finishing the game shooting 59% from the field and 55.6% from three. Five Ducks scored 10 points or more, including 21 points from senior guard LJ Figueroa, 17 from junior guard Will Richardson and 15 from redshirt senior forward Eugene Omoruyi.
Richardson also recorded nine assists and seven rebounds in the game.
This game will also likely mark the conclusion of the collegiate careers of both Verge Jr. and Martin, who ranks sixth on the program's all-time scoring list and second on its all-time assists list.
"It's always sad when it ends, but when there's people you have a bond with and a connection, it makes it a little more difficult to know that it's over," ASU head coach Bobby Hurley said.
Hurley said that he specifically felt privileged to have had "one last dance" with Martin.
"It feels like yesterday he was stealing the ball versus Kansas," Hurley said, referring to Martin's signature performance as a freshman when the Sun Devils upset the No. 2 Jayhawks. "I won't have an opportunity to coach him again, so that was tough — the reality of that."
Hurley said it was a "tough scene" in the locker room but commended the team's core players for putting their "heart and soul" into the season while facing adverse circumstances, as ASU's season was dramatically impacted by injuries and several COVID-19-related stoppages.
"It's been a tough year," Hurley said. "Just a lot of things thrown at us all year, and I just have tremendous respect for the entire group that we stayed together, that these kids have gone through all the procedures they go through every day, the protocols, masks all the time, testing, and we've gotten through it. We got through the season."
Reach the reporter at cbreber@asu.edu and follow @carsobi on Twitter.
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