In its return to Pauley Pavilion against former Pac-12 opponent UCLA, ASU men's basketball dropped to 9-3 before its final game of nonconference play.
Going into the Wednesday night matchup, UCLA had won its previous five games against the Sun Devils, a streak that dates back to the 2021-22 season.
Despite now playing in separate conferences, ASU head coach Bobby Hurley still found it meaningful for the two West Coast teams to meet.
"It was important to us as a staff and our administration to try and schedule our former Pac-12 partners and to maintain those relationships as best we can," Hurley said. "West Coast basketball just can't disappear."
As the game tipped off, UCLA looked like a team hanging around the outside of the AP and Coaches polls, pushing ASU against the wall early.
However, as a team that was coming off a record-tying 17-point comeback in its most recent game against Santa Clara, it would take more than an early 24-9 deficit to break the will of the Sun Devils.
Despite pulling back some momentum near the end of the first half, the Sun Devils still had work to do going into the locker room, with the scoreboard reading 45-33 at halftime.
UCLA took the momentum back as the second half started, eventually reaching its game-high lead of 16 before Hurley called a timeout to put a stop to the run from the Bruins.
Out of the timeout, ASU found new life, cutting the lead down to five before UCLA head coach Mick Cronin called a timeout that would prove important.
The Bruins turned around with a six-point swing.
Sophomore guard Trent Perry hit a three-pointer before redshirt sophomore guard/forward Brandon Williams blocked a shot that was followed up by another UCLA three, this time by senior guard Skyy Clark, to bring the Bruin lead back to double digits.
As ASU made its push toward a comeback, the three-point firepower from the Bruins proved to be too strong. UCLA finished the night shooting 14 of 26 from beyond the three-point line — a stark contrast to ASU's 4 of 26.
With shooting being a difference maker in the game, sophomore guard Noah Meeusen pointed out how important it is for ASU to limit its opponent from beyond the line.
"It's hard to beat a team when they shoot that good," Meeusen said. "Mainly because we gave them open shots. We didn't rotate how we should rotate. Coach had a good defensive scheme, but we just didn't execute."
As the shooting from the Bruins stayed hot to the end of the game, the comeback attempt from the Sun Devils ended unsuccessfully, leading to a final score of 90-77 in ASU's third loss of the season.
Despite the loss, Hurley stood by the importance of playing high-level opponents like the Bruins.
"I easily could have bought six games this year, seven games, and played a few hard games," Hurley said. "You've got to go play people. You've got to get exposed a little bit. You've got to get punched in the mouth, we got punched in the mouth a little bit today, but I think we'll respond."
While ASU did not come out with a win, one bright spot was its historically good free-throw shooting.
ASU made 25 of its 26 free throw attempts, only missing the final free throw shot of the night. Senior guard Anthony "Pig" Johnson led ASU from the line, making all 14 free throws he attempted.
A matchup with Oregon State on Dec. 21 serves as the final game before conference play for ASU; matchups with Big 12 opponents loom for the Sun Devils. As ASU prepares to face conference play, Meeusen and the team are ready.
"Everybody picked us last preseason," Meeusen said. "Nobody picked us to be a good team. We surprised a lot of people. We have a good team; we are cohesive. So I like our chances in the Big 12."
Edited by Alan Deutschendorf, Jack McCarthy and Pippa Fung.
Reach the reporter at aswift10@asu.edu and follow @alexswiftsports on X.
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