Arizona State did more than escape. The Sun Devils absorbed every punch, steadied themselves when the game tilted against them, and delivered their best performance of the season in an 87-86 win over Texas at the Lahaina Civic Center. It was a night defined by toughness, belief and the growing identity Bobby Hurley has been waiting to see.
Hurley did not hide what he thought this win meant. “I felt like that was a hell of a game,” he said. “It felt like a tournament game. That is the vibe I had the whole time.”
The spark came from guard Moe Odum, who erupted for thirty six points and controlled the final minutes with confidence that belied his slow start. He summed up his mindset simply. “My mentality is stay in it,” Odum said. “If I tell my teammates to stay in it, how can I not stay in it myself?”
Hurley, who once dominated this same event as a player, could only grin. “I played in this tournament and I never played as good as you played, my man.”
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The Sun Devils also leaned heavily on Anthony “Pig” Johnson, who poured in seventeen points off the bench and gave Arizona State the early surge it needed. His approach fit the tone of the night. “Dog mentality,” Johnson said. “Who wants it more.”
Hurley saw exactly that. “Pig got to the basket and got points on the board so we could get our feet under us,” he said.
Arizona State shot 48 percent from the field, hit nine threes and steadied itself in the face of Texas’ size and physicality.
What mattered most was the way they did it. “The chemistry of the group has always been good,” Hurley said. “The guys get along very well and play unselfishly. It has been a pleasure to coach these guys.”
ASU, now 5–1, faces Washington State next with a berth in the championship game waiting. And for the first time this season, the Sun Devils look fully ready for that challenge.
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