Heading into halftime with a 13-point lead, the Sun Devils had UCLA Bruins right where they wanted them. Then, in what felt like an instant, ASU's lead was gone to a UCLA 68-66 win Wednesday night.
Throughout the first 10 minutes of the second half, the Bruins began to claw back into the game, but it seemed that ASU was holding on tight to their lead, disregarding how big or small it was.
But then, with 10:10 left in the game, a tidal wave of emotion washed through Desert Financial Arena.
After a UCLA player was fouled on a layup attempt, a scuffle appeared under the basket. As the players cleared out, ASU sophomore center Shawn Phillips Jr. had an exchange with one of the officials handling the situation, which led to an ejection for the big man. He was handed two technical fouls while UCLA big man Adem Bona was handed one.
This was the clear turning point of this in-conference matchup. Regarding what the Sun Devils lacked for the remainder of the game, junior forward Jamiya Neal raved about his importance and input.
"He's so athletic, he can do so many things," Neal said. "He can score in the post, he can block shots, he slides his feet well, he does a lot of things, he’s an energy guy also."
After Phillips was tossed, four free throws were given because of his remaining technical foul (no free throws for the other tech because UCLA was also given a tech) and because of the shot foul before the altercation. All four free throws were cashed; UCLA regained possession because of the tech and hit a shot behind the arc.
After relenting a 7-point possession, which seemed almost impossible, the game swung from ASU leading 49-43 to UCLA leading 50-49.
The contest stayed neck and neck for the rest of the game. Still, as emotions continued to rise, Neal and junior center Bryant Selebangue received technical fouls, resulting in three points from their respective free throws that ASU couldn’t afford to give up.
Junior guard Frankie Collins tried his best to clutch up for his team, hitting an awkward three-pointer after a shot fake to give ASU the lead at 63-62, but then UCLA had two fast-break layups. Both teams shot a few free throws, but those free throws were not enough for the Sun Devils to pull it out, losing 68-66.
After the loss, Collins said that the team just needed to control their emotions; they just needed to play basketball.
"As a point guard, as a leader, I got to be there making sure people understand in those situations, we can’t do that," Collins said about talking to Selebangue during the emotional second half. "The refs are already telling us not to say a word, and we are still talking, just trying to tell him this is a critical moment in the game and we can’t do that."
Sun Devil head coach Bobby Hurley entered the press conference after the game with evident frustration.
"I wish I could say how I really feel," Hurley said. "I wish I could say how I could really feel right now, but I am not going to do that. I am not going to say how I really feel."
Because Hurley could not talk about the topic he was aggravated about, presumably the officiating, he touched on how proud he was of the team's shooting percentages, both from the two and from three, and that they had six turnovers while UCLA had 11.
In a sarcastic yet angry tone, Hurley called his team the "bad guys."
"We're the bad guys," Hurley said. "Say hello to the bad guys. You may never see a bad guy like us again … I’m sure no one else said anything except us all night."
Regarding regrouping for Saturday, Hurley said he and the team must focus on the quality of basketball they played despite the loss and "look at the bright side" of the squad's first home loss this season.
The Sun Devils face the USC Trojans on Saturday at home, who boast big names at the guard position like Boogie Ellis and Bronny James. While USC already lost to one Arizona team this week, ASU looks to make it two as they move past the emotional UCLA loss.
"We have a young team, but we have to grow up early if we want to continue to do what we say we want to do and get to NCAA tournaments and things like that," Collins said. "We have to mature and not let things like that happen. And especially at home. You can't give up a home game like that."
Edited by Alfred Smith III, Walker Smith and Caera Learmonth.
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