Field Level Media
Dec 8, 2018
Senior forward Caleb Martin scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half to lead No. 6 Nevada to a 72-66 comeback victory over No. 20 Arizona State on Friday night in the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Senior power forward Jordan Caroline added 16 points and eight rebounds to help Nevada (9-0) recover from a 15-point, first-half deficit. Senior forward Tre'Shawn Thurman added 10 points for the Wolf Pack.
Freshman guard Luguentz Dort scored 24 points for Arizona State (7-1), which had its 20-game nonconference winning streak halted. Senior forward Zylan Cheatham added 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Sun Devils.
Nevada outscored Arizona State 48-30 in the second half to remain unbeaten.
The Wolf Pack shot 56.7 percent from the field in the second half to finish at 45.5 percent. Nevada was just 3 of 18 from 3-point range overall.
The Sun Devils held a 40-31 rebounding edge. Arizona State shot 40.3 percent from the field, including 5 of 20 from behind the arc.
Nevada shot just 32 percent from the field and committed 10 turnovers while digging itself a 36-24 halftime deficit.
However, the Wolf Pack turned things around with a 10-2 run early in the second half. A dunk by senior forward Trey Porter trimmed Arizona State's lead to 40-36 with 14:34 left.
The Sun Devils were up 48-44 after a basket by Dort with 11:28 left before Nevada rattled off nine consecutive points. Caleb Martin's 3-pointer gave the Wolf Pack a 51-48 lead with 9:06 left, and Thurman capped the burst with two free throws with 8:09 remaining.
More than three minutes later, Thurman converted a three-point play to give Nevada a 62-52 advantage with 5:03 left.
Arizona State soon charged back with a 11-2 push. Dort made two 3-pointers while scoring eight points during the surge, and sophomore guard Remy Martin buried a 3-pointer to move the Sun Devils within 64-63 with 1:58 left.
Four points by senior forward Cody Martin -- two free throws and a layup -- led to a 68-64 lead for the Wolf Pack. Caroline added two free throws with 24.3 seconds left, and Thurman sealed it with a ferocious dunk with 9.6 seconds to go.
Earlier, sophomore forward Romello White hit a jumper to increase Arizona State's lead to 23-8 with 9:32 left in the first half.
The Sun Devils again pushed their lead to 15 on Cheatham's three-point play with 1:05 remaining before the break.
--Field Level Media