Field Level Media
Dec 16, 2020
Bryson Williams scored 22 points as part of a double-double and Souley Boum scored 18 as UTEP dominated the second half and beat Arizona State 76-63 on Wednesday night in Tempe, Ariz.
Boum scored the first nine points of the second half to the give the Miners the lead after trailing 41-33 at the break. UTEP was the more aggressive team in the second half, outscoring ASU 43-22 and outrebounding the Devils by 14.
UTEP (3-2) earned its first win over a Division I opponent after beating Division II Texas Permian Basin and Division III Sul Ross State. Arizona State (4-3) lost its final scheduled nonconference game of the season.
Williams contributed 10 rebounds and scored 16 of his points after halftime. Tydus Verhoeven had 10 points and nine boards.
ASU freshman Josh Cristopher tied his career high with 24 points, making 10 of 20 shots. Alonzo Verge Jr. scored 13. Remy Martin, averaging a team-high 18.2 points and coming off a 31-point game against Grand Canyon, was unusually quiet, finishing with nine points. He was 0-for-4 from beyond the arc.
The Miners led 66-56 with 8:20 to go before the Sun Devils turned up the defensive pressure and rallied within 68-63 at the 5:34 mark. UTEP answered with an 8-0 run to end the game as Arizona State missed its final eight shots to cap a frustrating night from distance.
The Sun Devils went 1 of 18 from 3-point range -- and the one make was a banked 3-ball from Taeshon Cherry late in the first half.
The game was tied at 31 late in a back-and-forth first half, but Arizona State finished with a 10-2 run to take an eight-point lead at the break. Martin drove for a layup with three seconds left for his only attempt from the field of the half, although he was 5 of 5 from the line.
The Sun Devils' first 11 baskets of the game came in the paint before Verge made a jumper beyond the free throw line at the 2:20 mark.
ASU freshman starter Marcus Bagley missed his third consecutive game because of a lower left leg injury.
--Field Level Media