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Arizona State escapes second-half hole, edges SMU

November 11, 2023; Tempe, Ariz.; USA; ASU head coach Bobby Hurley calls out to his team during the season home opener against Texas Southern at Desert Financial Arena.

Jose Perez scored 20 points and Frankie Collins added 17 as Arizona State came back for a 76-74 win over SMU on Wednesday night at Tempe, Ariz.

The Sun Devils (6-2) overcame a 13-point deficit in the second half to win their fourth straight game.

SMU (6-4) is now 0-6 in its series with the Sun Devils.

After Arizona State’s Bryant Selebangue missed two free throws with 1:05 left and his team up by four, SMU’s Chuck Harris was fouled. Harris, a 90.5 percent free-throw shooter, made just 1 of 2 to cut the deficit to 72-69.

Kamari Lands’ two free throws with 21 seconds remaining increased the margin to 74-69.

The Mustangs’ Zhuric Phelps then converted a layup with nine seconds remaining.

Jose Perez made 1 of 2 free throws with seven seconds left to give Arizona State a 75-71 lead.

Harris was fouled two seconds later and missed the front end of a one-and-one.

Arizona State’s Jamiya Neal made split two free throws with 3.8 seconds left to make it 76-71.

Phelps, who led SMU with 24 points and nine rebounds, made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to complete the scoring.

Harris had 17 points and six rebounds.

The Mustangs outrebounded Arizona State 44-34 and outscored the Sun Devils 42-22 in the paint but allowed 22 fastbreak points thanks to 15 turnovers.

SMU held Arizona State without a made field goal for almost five minutes and went on a 12-0 run to take a 63-50 lead with 11:28 remaining.

Tyreek Smith, Harris and Phelps made two layups apiece during the run, which included Arizona State missing five shots and committing a turnover.

The field-goal drought ended when Collins sank a 3-pointer with 11:06 left to cut the lead to 63-53.

The Sun Devils scored nine unanswered points to pull withing 64-62 with 7:54 remaining.

Phelps’ layup — SMU’s first field goal in nearly four minutes — ended the run with 7:36 left.

The Mustangs’ 1-for-10 stretch from the field with eight turnovers resulted in Arizona State battling back to take a 72-66 lead with 2:47 remaining.

Two free throws by Alonzo Gaffney at that time capped a 22-3 run.

–Field Level Media

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