Moe Odum capped a career-high 36-point effort with the game-winning 3-pointer, powering Arizona State past Texas 87-86 in the Monday nightcap at the Maui Invitational in Lahaina, Hawaii.
Odum shot 6-for-12 from 3-point range on the night, with none of his triples any bigger than the contested attempt he knocked down with 10.6 seconds remaining. The hoop punctuated a rollicking conclusion to the contest.
Arizona State (5-1) rallied from a 10-point deficit in the last 7 1/2 minutes. Texas (4-2) seemingly took control with a 7-0 run, completed when Matas Vokietaitis pushed the lead to double-digits on an and-one bucket near the rim.
The basket accounted for two of Texas’ 46 points scored in the paint. Vokietaitis finished with 15 points.
However, he missed the ensuing foul shot and Arizona State responded when Odum erupted to score 10 of the Sun Devils’ points in a 13-2 run. The burst put Arizona State on top 79-78 with 5:06 to go, setting up a back-and-forth finale that included four ties down the stretch.
Dailyn Swain pushed Texas ahead three separate times in the final 4:10, part of his team-high 24 points.
Swain also snared a crucial rebound when Odum missed a wide-open 3-pointer with 25 seconds remaining. Arizona State sent Swain to the foul line, where he proceeded to miss both attempts, leading to Odum’s decisive shot.
The Longhorns were unable to get off a shot attempt before the final horn, as Massamba Diop came up with a takeaway from Tramon Mark to seal the win for Arizona State.
Diop was limited to six points, the result of playing in foul trouble much of the night. Arizona State’s Anthony Johnson helped pick up some of the scoring slack, finishing with 17 points.
Mark scored 11 points for Texas, and Jordan Pope added 10.
With the win, Arizona State faces former Pac-12 Conference counterpart Washington State in the Tuesday semifinals. Texas draws host Chaminade, which took Washington State to the wire on Monday.
–Field Level Media
