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Arizona State edges Texas in foul-heavy Maui Invitational, 87-86, behind 36 from Moe Odum

by: Keenan Womack20 hours ago

Feast Week began with several tournaments tipping at noon today, ensuring that Inside Texas writer Keenan Womack would be a virtual no-show at his office job (if my boss is reading this, just kidding). Though games went on all day, the night cap featured a matchup between Texas and Arizona State that tipped at 10:30 central time, adding fuel to the fire of a Womack underperformance at work on Tuesday.

First Half

How could something so ugly happen in the beautiful state of Hawaii? You’ll have to ask the officiating crew in Maui, as the first half between Texas and Arizona State was a very choppy affair despite a combined 73 points. 24 foul calls and 26 free-throw attempts marred the flow of the matchup and killed any chance of the game getting into a consistent rhythm.

Compounding the ref show was 16 turnovers to four assists between the two teams, who were playing a style of jet lag hoops that makes four corners look like a Nate Oats offense. About the only shots falling were from the charity stripe, as the ‘Horns and Devs shot a combined 6-for-21 from beyond the arc.

Arizona State guard Moe Odum led all scorers with 15 points in the first 20 minutes, emphasizing what has been typical for him this season in a low-efficiency, high-scoring performance (3-for-9 from the field). For the Longhorns, Tramon Mark (eight points) Dailyn Swain (seven) led the way scoring wise, but really attacked offensively by committee. The story for Texas was their offensive rebounding, as they took advantage of over-aggressive collapsing by the Sun Devils to grab eight boards, which they converted into 12 second-chance points.

An 11-2 run by Arizona State featuring five made shots in a row ended the half as the underdog Devils led Texas 39-34 going into the break.

Second Half

Though the second half was much more entertaining than the paint-drying first half, fouls continued to be a major factor for both teams, generally frustrating everyone involved on both sides. Officiating neutralized Sun Devils star freshman big Massamba Diop, who recorded his fourth foul before the 10-minute mark of the second period, though this was in part due to Sean Miller’s strategy of pounding the ball down low to sophomore center Matas Vokietaitis.

The issues with the Texas offense melted away as the half went on, as they recorded nine assists through the first 12 minutes of the second half. Compared to their single assist and nine turnovers in the first half, it was a marked improvement. Still, Arizona State stayed in the game by getting to the line seemingly every trip down the floor despite their inability to otherwise hit many shots.

Despite taking a 10-point lead later in the second half, the Longhorns gave up a 13-2 run with under five minutes left in the game, giving the Sun Devils a 79-78 lead with 4:52 left. From there, it was a back-and-forth affair with players trying their hardest to avoid fouling out, which became a problem much earlier than it should have.

Swain missed two free throws with 10 seconds left, unable to add to an 86-84 lead, and Arizona State made them pay as Moe Odum hit a fadeaway three-pointer to take the lead with 8.6 seconds left. Texas had one more chance but was unable to answer, as Tramon Mark slipped, and they never got a shot up.

87-86 final from Maui in a brutal loss.

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