Comeback Complete: Men’s Basketball rallies from 19 points down to beat Santa Clara

Without the services of Head Coach Bobby Hurley after his double technical foul with four seconds left in the first half, Arizona State did not let the circumstances faze them. Assistant coach Nick Irvin took over as the acting head coach and helped lead the Sun Devils to an epic comeback victory.

It was a second half for the ages that helped Sun Devil Men’s Basketball move to 3-0 in games separated by six points or less this season. A total team effort proved to be too much for Santa Clara to handle, with contributions coming from all over the court durign the comeback. Four Sun Devils ended in double figures, led by senior guard Anthony “Pig” Johnson‘s 15 points, 14 of which came in the second half.

Joining Johnson in double figures is freshman center Massamaba Diop, who finished with 15 points and nine rebounds in a season-high 35 minutes. Senior guard Moe Odum was the leader behind the big comeback effort, adding 12 points and seven assists of his own. Junior forward Andrija Grbovic delivered a season-high 13 points, including huge buckets down the stretch to keep the Sun Devils within striking distance.

During the second half comeback, Arizona State completely dominated Santa Clara. ASU outscored SCU 44-24 over the final 20 minutes, holding them to just 9-of-33 (27.3%) shooting from the field. An overwhelming 22-4 run during the most critical stretch of the game was the difference for the Maroon and Gold. The Sun Devils will return to familiar territory to take on an old Pac-12 rival on Wednesday when they face UCLA in Los Angeles on Dec. 17 at 8:30 p.m MST. Outside of Arizona (109 wins), California (16 wins) is the state that Hurley has the most wins in as the head coach.

Series history

Arizona State continues their success in the series with Santa Clara. In the ninth meeting between the two programs, the Sun Devils captured their seventh victory. They have now won each of the past seven meetings between the two sides. Hurley moves to 2-0 against Herb Sendek at the helm in Tempe.

9-2 start

The Sun Devils have started 9-2 or better for the second consecutive season. It is their fourth 9-2 start or better in the Bobby Hurley era. Five of their wins to start off 2025-26 have come away from home (4 neutral, 1 road). The 9-2 start comes against the nation’s 63rd-strongest schedule according to ESPN, who has ASU slotted at 29 in their latest Strength of Record metric with three Quad 1 wins credited (Texas, Oklahoma, Santa Clara).

Sun Devils in Las Vegas

Head Coach Bobby Hurley and Sun Devil Men’s Basketball are no stranger to competing in Las Vegas, as the program has had plenty of success in the city during his tenure. Arizona State is now 8-1 in Las Vegas in the regular season under Hurley, picking up victories over Santa Clara (2x), Creighton, Vanderbilt, Utah State, Mississippi State, Xavier, and Kansas State during that span.  In previous years, Coach Hurley has guided ASU to neutral site tournament championships at the 2017 Continental Tire Invitational and the 2018 MGM Resorts Main Event. Here is a look back at some of the program’s biggest neutral site regular season triumphs in the Entertainment Capital of the World.

First half

Each team exchanged 5-0 runs to start the half, with Odum connected from deep to get the scoring started for ASU. Consecutive buckets from Grbovic followed, with Santa Clara claiming a 9-7 lead at the first media timeout. Following an 8-0 spurt from the Broncos, Odum answered with another deep triple. He then showed his ability to take it to the basket, finishing through contact with the right hand. Odum than assisted on a Diop dunk, which was backed up by a Grbovic three to cut the Broncos’ lead to 20-17.

The Sun Devil point guard continued to attack the Santa Clara defense, scoring on consecutive possessions in the paint. ASU’s fast break offense was a key reason why they were able to execute early, scoring six points in transition. The Broncos built on their strong offense start, but energy out of Mukeba helped the Sun Devils keep within striking distance. Odum found him twice for layups and then Mukeba had a chase down block to swing momentum in the half.

In need of a boost offensively, Diop provided, stepping out from behind the arc and nailed only his third three-point field goal of the season. He then backed that up with a put back dunk, energizing his bench in the process. Santa Clara controlled the remainder of the half, using the free throw line to build a double-digit lead. By the time the dust had settled, Hurley was accessed a double-technical and the Broncos entered the break with a 55-38 deficit.

Photo – Sun Devil Athletics

Second half

Arizona State came out of the break a totally different team. The Sun Devils used the halftime reset to their advantage, making improtant adjsutments that proved to pay dividends. Santa Clara extended their lead to as high as 19 points, going up 60-41 with 18:17 left in the game. It was all Maroon and Gold the rest of the way.

Grbovic got the rally started with a three-point field goal, with the Sun Devil defense also settling in. The Arizona State bench took over the next stretch of action, with an Mukeba bucket inside and a Noah Meeusen three-pointer cutting the lead to 13. Santa Clara scored with 15:10 left to go back up 15, but would not score again until the 8:26 mark. During that span, the Sun Devils turned a 15-point hole into only a one-point deficit.

Adams Jr. had a momentum-changing conversion of a three-point play to kickstart the run. Diop followed with a fast break dunk off of a turnover created by the Sun Devils, as they began to generate defense into offense. Another Broncos turnover led to a triple in the corner by Johnson with 12;15 left, cutting the lead to single digits for the first time since the 1:01 mark of the first half. It was part of a stretch of seven-straight points for Johnson, as he took over offensively in the second half. A layup and a pair of free throws trimmed the Santa Clara lead all the way down to three points with 10:17 left.

Still trailing in the game, but with all the momentum on their side, the Sun Devil faithful in attendance came to life. Arizona State’s fanbase ignited another push for their side, with the Maroon and Gold avoiding the fatigue that can sometimes come in major comeback efforts. Adams Jr. converted on his first three-pointer of the day, tying the game at 66 with 8:16. Four consecutive made free throws by the ASU front court, two by Mukeba and two by Diop, evenutally gave the Sun Devils their first lead of the entire contest (68-66) with 7:40 to go.

Arizona State did not rest on their laurels with the lead now in hand, as they continued to dominate the action in the most important part of the game. Diop and Trouet each had finishes on the fast break, making it 72-68 ASU with 5:34 left. The lead grew to as many as seven (80-73), with the Sun Devils making the important plays late in the game to seal the victory. Seven points in a 90 second stretch by Johnson put the game away, as he was a pefect 5-of-5 from the free throw line in the waning moments. A pair of Broncos triples late in the half snapped what was an 0-of-14 start in the period and pulled SCU within one point again. However, a perfectly-executed inbounds play drawn up by Nick Irvin allowed Odum to find Meeusen for a massive bucket with 13 seconds left. ASU was able to get a stop on the final possesion of the game, forcing a pair of missed three-pointers, the final of which was blocked by Meeusen. Arizona State came away with a 82-79 win behind a historical comeback.

Quotables

Arizona State Head Coach Bobby Hurley

On the resilency of his group

“The first half spoke for itself. We were outplayed and outhustled and it was very frustrating. At the end of the half, we felt a couple calls went against us. That was the end of the day for me, but time for everyone else to step up. The guys really rallied together. There were some hard conversations at halftime with all of our coaching staff. Really proud of how hard that we fought to get back into the game. They fought for each other.”

On Nick Irvin taking over in the second half

“We are a family as a staff. This is not my show. We work together and do this collectively. To see him have that moment and to lead us the way he did was so impressive. It was one of the better wins that I have had and I wasn’t even a part of it. That is because of what Nick Irvinmeans to me and what my staff and players did in that second half.”

Up next

Sun Devil Men’s Basketball remains on the road, as they meet on old Pac-12 rival in familiar territory. Arizona State will take on No. 25 UCLA on Dec. 17 at 8:30 p.m. MST in their return to Pauley Pavillion.

Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Connor Smith