Arizona State’s Anthony Johnson scored 14 of his 15 points in the second half to help fuel an 82-79 comeback victory over Santa Clara on Saturday night at Henderson, Nev.
Arizona State rallied from a 19-point deficit two minutes into the second half with head coach Bobby Hurley in the locker room after he was ejected.
The Sun Devils trailed by 17 points at halftime. The victory matches the largest comeback win from a halftime deficit in program history.
Hurley was ejected with 4.3 seconds left in the first half with the Sun Devils trailing 49-38. Christian Hammond made the four free throws from the two technical fouls, which occurred after Hurley argued that a charging foul should have been called on Hammond.
Hammond then made a layup at the buzzer to give the Broncos a 55-38 lead at halftime.
It was the largest scoring output in a half this season for Santa Clara, which shot 58.1% (18 of 31) in that span.
The Broncos made 27.3% (9 of 33) of their shots in the second half, including 2 of 17 from beyond the arc.
Arizona State (9-2) has won seven of its last eight games.
The Sun Devils were coached by assistant Nick Irvin in the second half.
Santa Clara (8-3) was led by Hammond’s 22 points; he had 18 in the first half.
Johnson’s 3-point play with 2:03 left put Arizona State ahead 80-73.
Consecutive 3-pointers made by Hammond and Francis Chukwudebelu cut the lead to 80-79 with 39 seconds left.
Noah Meeusen made a layup with 13 seconds left to put Arizona State ahead 82-79, then blocked a 3-point attempt by Hammond at the buzzer.
Santa Clara’s lead was 60-41 with 18:17 left after consecutive dunks by Bukky Oboye.
Arizona State then held the Broncos to only one field goal over the next 10 minutes. The Sun Devils went on a 22-4 run in that span, which included Santa Clara missing 14 consecutive shots from the field.
Oboye’s drive to the basket with 8:26 left ended the field goal drought of 6:44 for the Broncos, who still led 66-63.
Santa Clara did not trail in the game until 7:40 remained, when Massamba Diop made two free throws to put the Sun Devils ahead 68-66.
–Field Level Media
