The fiery start to ASU's season was taken to a new level, as head coach Bobby Hurley was ejected late in the first half. 

Hurley’s emotional outburst was the product of the early hole the Sun Devils created for themselves, as they were down 17 points at halftime, playing with a lack of energy and focus.

Despite the double-digit deficit at halftime, ASU (9-2) mounted a charge in the second half of the Jack Jones Classic, defeating Santa Clara University (8-3) 82-79 at Lee’s Family Forum in Las Vegas, Nevada. The absence of Hurley was filled in a major way by assistant coach Nick Irvin, as the Sun Devils responded on both ends of the floor, cleaning up turnovers and getting key stops on seemingly every possession.

It looked for a while as though ASU would not be able to keep the Broncos off the scoreboard, as sophomore guard Christian Hammond had 16 first-half points and Santa Clara shot 60% from behind the arc as a whole. 

“They (were) hittin’ in the first half,” senior guard Moe Odum said, “that’s what gave them 55 points, that’s half of 100 in 20 minutes. That’s unacceptable for any team.” 

Though Hurley had been sent to the locker room early, he still had plenty to say to the team following a disappointing opening frame.

“It felt like he was still there,” senior guard Anthony “Pig” Johnson said, “he had a lot of energy for us in the locker room.” 

Clearly, Hurley was able to transfer his energy to a lifeless-looking team, as the Sun Devils erased their 17-point deficit, mainly thanks to a 17-2 run of their own.

A high effort play on his own miss from redshirt sophomore Marcus Adams Jr., with a little over 13 minutes left in the game, was the turning point in the contest, as the putback bucket ignited ASU, which quickly tied the game at 66 apiece.

The Sun Devils were able to build a multi-possession lead in crunch time, and as the minutes ticked off the clock, the drastic difference from half to half was even more apparent. 

While the offense picked it up in a major way, stopping the barrage of 3-pointers from the Broncos was clearly the focus for ASU, and it succeeded in that in a major way.

Santa Clara only made two of its 17 three-point attempts in the second half, leading to it being outscored 44-24, just enough for ASU to sneak away with a victory. 

While only three points separated these two teams when the buzzer sounded, a key difference in scoring contributions is what sealed the game for the Sun Devils.

Of the nine players who checked in for ASU, six of them had eight or more points, including four of the five starters, with all of those four having double digits. 

Santa Clara took a different route, as Hammond and senior forward Elijah Mahi combined for 39 points, almost half of the Broncos' entire scoring output.

By putting a focus on those two players, ASU was able to turn off the Broncos' faucet of points, while Santa Clara was left drowning in buckets from every direction and contributor.

The 17-point comeback in the second half tied a program record, as the Sun Devils will now ride their momentum into a clash with No. 25 UCLA on Wednesday evening in Los Angeles. 

Now 9-2, ASU’s program is an embodiment of unselfish, team basketball. Perfectly encapsulated by Johnson’s post-game answer to a question asking how he felt about his first start for the team.

“It felt great… but, I don’t really care about starting,” Johnson said, “I just wanted to win.”