ASU Basketball: Sun Devils grab much needed victory with commanding 87-83 win over Washington

The Arizona State Sun Devils got a much needed win Saturday, taking down the Washington Huskies 87-83 to improve to 13-8 on the season and 4-4 in Pac-12 play. The Sun Devils were in control throughout the contest, leading for all but 89 seconds as the team is now 15-3 following a loss over the past two seasons.

Junior guard Remy Martin led all Sun Devil scorers with 19 points on 5-13 shooting, including 4-11 shooting from three.

The Pac-12’s leading scorer coming into Saturday’s contest, Martin carried the ASU offense early with 14 first half points, but didn’t pick up his first points of the second half until midway through the period.

Much of that had to do with the scoring prowess of Martin’s fellow guards, namely Rob Edwards and Alonzo Verge Jr., who both finished with 18 points in the win.

Verge did most of his damage near the basket, connecting on 7-8 attempts including a perfect 4-4 in the second half.

Edwards was not quite as efficient as his backcourt partner, hitting on just 3-12 attempts from the field and 3-10 tries from three, but worked to get himself easy points with nine points from the free throw line on 10 attempts.

Much of ASU’s success Saturday can be attributed to unprecedented balance from the Sun Devils, as the win marked the first time this season ASU has had four different scorers with over 17 points.

Saturday was also likely ASU’s most impressive showing from the free throw line so far this year, as their 27 makes from the charity stripe is the Sun Devil’s second best mark of the season, while their 82 percent clip was their highest so far this year in games they have attempted over 17 free throws.

The Sun Devils were stout defensively through Saturday’s contest, holding the Huskies to just 39 percent shooting from the field and 29 percent shooting from three.

ASU was especially strong defensively in the game’s early minutes, forcing UW misses on 14 of their first 20 attempts from the field including eight straight misses from three to open the contest.

ASU was also able to keep UW’s pair of star-studded freshman at bay, limiting both Isiah Stewart and Jaden McDaniels to below average scoring nights in the loss.

Stewart, UW’s leading scorer heading into Saturday’s contest, was held to just 14 points on 3-7 shooting, while McDaniels finished with six points while failing to connect on any of his four shot attempts.

Up next for ASU is a pair of matchups with their Los Angeles based rivals, as the Sun Devils host the UCLA Bruins on Thursday before battling the USC Trojans on Saturday.

Winners of three of their last four, ASU will look to continue their strong play this weekend as they work to stay afloat in the wide-open Pac-12.