Massamba Diop scored nine of his 15 points at the free-throw line as Arizona State snapped a six-game Big 12 road losing streak with a 71-63 victory over Utah on Wednesday night in Salt Lake City.
Diop shot just 3-for-11 from the floor but hit nine of 10 free-throw attempts as the Sun Devils (12-11, 3-7 Big 12) made 22 of 25 (88%) at the line, marking their second-best showing of the season.
Arizona State’s Anthony Johnson added 14 points and hit 5 of 6 free throws to offset a 4-of-12 showing from the floor. Maurice Odum added 13 for the Sun Devils, who led by 18 in the first half but shot 23.1% in the second half and 38.6% overall.
Arizona State played seven players while improving to 7-0 when allowing 70 points or fewer.
Don McHenry led all scorers with 23 points, but Utah (9-13, 1-8) lost for the ninth time in 10 games. Seydou Traore added 16, but leading scorer Terrence Brown shot 2-of-16 and was held to six.
The Utes shot 39%, went 9-for-27 from 3-point range and only attempted 13 free throws, sinking eight. Utah was held to its second-lowest point total this season.
Arizona State scored 12 consecutive points and took a 29-14 lead when Bryce Ford hit a fadeaway near the baseline late in the shot clock shortly after the midpoint of the first half. The Sun Devils expanded their lead to 37-19 on a layup by Andrija Grbovic with 3:56 left in the half and held a 41-25 cushion at the break.
Utah started the second half with an 11-2 run, and McHenry’s transition layup sliced the lead to 43-36 with 15:08 left. McHenry continued keeping the Utes within striking distance, and his open corner 3-pointer cut the deficit to 50-43 with 11:41 to go.
Arizona State took a 61-49 lead on a trey by Odum with 5:36 left following an offensive rebound Grbovic. Utah countered with a 12-4 run, capped by McHenry’s coast-to-coast layup that sliced the lead to 65-61 with 1:41 to go.
Utah was within 67-63 following a putback by James Okonkwo with 20 seconds left, but Arizona State finished it off by making four free throws.
–Field Level Media
