LAS VEGAS, NV— Chaos set the stage, but resilience defined the finish as Arizona State Sun Devils erased a 19-point second-half deficit to defeat the Santa Clara Broncos 82–79 on Saturday night in the Jack Jones Classic at Lee’s Family Forum.
The game swung dramatically just before halftime when Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley was assessed two technical fouls and ejected in the final seconds. Santa Clara capitalized immediately, as Christian Hammond scored six points in the final four seconds—four free throws and a layup—to send the Broncos into the locker room with a commanding 55–38 lead.
Santa Clara showed no signs of slowing early in the second half, pushing its advantage to 60–41 less than two minutes in and later maintaining a 15-point cushion with 15 minutes remaining. But the momentum abruptly shifted when the Broncos went scoreless for nearly seven minutes.
Arizona State seized the opening, ripping off a 14–0 run to climb back into contention. Bukky Oboye finally stopped the drought for Santa Clara, but the Sun Devils responded immediately. Marcus Adams Jr. buried a three-pointer to knot the game at 66 with 8:16 to play.
Moments later, Diop converted two free throws following a Santa Clara turnover and then punctuated the swing with a dunk, giving Arizona State its first lead of the night. The Sun Devils would not trail again, controlling the final 7:40 with timely defense and poised execution.
Diop delivered a strong all-around performance, finishing 6-of-10 from the floor with nine rebounds. Johnson added efficiency and composure, shooting 3-of-5 from the field, knocking down a three, and converting 8-of-9 free throws.
Arizona State also received key contributions from Andrija Grbovic, who hit three triples and scored 13 points, and Maurice Odum, who chipped in 12 points, seven rebounds, and four steals.
For Santa Clara (8–3), Hammond led all scorers with 22 points, draining four three-pointers. Elijah Mahi recorded 17 points and six rebounds, while Sash Gavalyugov provided 12 points off the bench. Oboye finished with 10 points before fouling out late.
Up Next
Arizona State (9–2) travels to face No. 25 UCLA Bruins on Wednesday. Santa Clara returns home to host North Texas Mean Green the same night.
