After spending the first two seasons of his college career at Toledo, junior guard and Scottsdale native Bryce Ford elected to come home and play for Arizona State.
However, it wasn’t until ASU’s first game outside of the Grand Canyon State that Ford had his first signature moment.
Behind an efficient 20-point performance from Ford, ASU (4-1) escaped the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu with a come-from-behind 83-76 victory over Hawaii (4-2) late Thursday, Nov 20, night.
The Sun Devils trailed the Rainbow Warriors 65-57 with just over seven minutes remaining before ending the game on a 26-11 run.
ASU completed its second consecutive comeback victory after trailing Georgia State by as many as 11 in the second half before ending the game on a 34-10 run en route to a 75-62 win on Monday, Nov 17, night in Tempe.
Ford went 7-for-11 from the field, including a 3-for-5 mark from three-point range. He topped his previous season-high total of 11, which he achieved twice against Southern Utah and Gonzaga.
Despite Ford’s big showing, head coach Bobby Hurley had to count on the rest of the roster to come through down the stretch, as Ford was kept off the board for the final six minutes and 42 seconds of action.
Instead, an experienced duo rose to the occasion to lift the Sun Devils to a win. Graduate forward Allen Mukeba and senior guard Moe Odum poured in 16 of ASU’s final 20 points, outscoring Hawaii 16-11 over the final six minutes by themselves.
Odum provided the final nail in the coffin to put the game to rest with a midrange jumpshot that extended the Sun Devils’ lead to six with just 37 seconds left to play. From there, free throws from Odum and Mukeba were tacked on to ensure the win for ASU.
Odum tallied 15 points along with six assists and four rebounds, while Mukeba finished with eight points and five boards. All eight of Mukeba’s points came in the final six minutes of the game.
The Sun Devils also received another big day off the bench from senior guard Anthony “Pig” Johnson, who ended up with 16 points to lead all bench players.
Johnson buried two free throws with 1:24 remaining in regulation to give ASU a four-point lead and eliminate the Rainbow Warriors’ chance to tie the game with one shot. Johnson, who only made 55.6% of his free throw attempts in the Sun Devils’ first four games, finished 7-for-9 from the charity stripe on Thursday night.
For Hawaii, senior center Isaac Johnson led the offensive charge with 23 points and seven rebounds, shooting a perfect 9-for-9 from the line. Sophomore guard Aaron Hunkin-Claytor was also a standout, contributing 18 points for the Rainbow Warriors after averaging 1.6 points per game in their first five contests.
Hawaii’s defense had its worst outing of the year on Thursday, as ASU’s 83 points is the most the Rainbow Warriors have surrendered all season by a relatively wide margin. The previous high was 74 points allowed to East Texas A&M on Nov. 9.
The Sun Devils will stick around on the Hawaiian islands for the weekend and return to action Monday at 9:30 p.m. MST against a familiar face for ASU fans. Former Arizona head coach Sean Miller’s Texas squad is next on the Sun Devils’ schedule in the opening round of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational.