Washington State will look to build on a scintillating comeback win when it squares off against former Pac 12-rival Arizona State on Tuesday in the semifinals of the Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii.
The winner will play either Seton Hall or Southern California in the championship final on Wednesday afternoon. The loser will play North Carolina State or Boise State in the third-place game on Wednesday.
The Cougars (3-3) earned a trip in the semifinals with a 90-85 come-from-behind win over host Chaminade on Monday. Washington State trailed by 20 points with 5:59 to play in the first half and by 52-41 at halftime before roaring back in the second.
The Cougars led by 17 points with just under nine minutes to play before holding on down the stretch. Washington State went the final 7:15 without a field goal but closed out the win with four free throws by Ace Glass III over the final 20 seconds.
“We showed some fight,” Washington State coach David Riley said. “It was a hectic game, and I think we got a really new team that hasn’t really played together in these roles. We just kind of stuck with the game plan and did it better. We were second-guessing everything in the first half, and we weren’t spacing the floor vertically.”
Glass led the Cougars with 26 points and Rihards Vavers added 25 for Washington State, which has won three of its past four games.
Speaking of comeback wins, the Sun Devils (5-1) produced one of their own in the nightcap.
They rallied from eight points down to post an 87-86 win over Texas. Maurice Odum poured in a career-high 36 points in the victory, including the game-winning 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining.
“The basket looked like a little hole in the first half, but as I got going, I kept myself confident,” Odum said. “I just keep playing my game, respect the game, play the right way in basketball, and it’s going to come right.”
Anthony Johnson added 17 points for Arizona State, which has won three straight games.
–Field Level Media
