Arizona State's Second Half Surge Not Enough to Overcome Houston

TEMPE -- The Arizona State Sun Devils (10-8, 1-4 Big 12) dropped their sixth game out of the last seven on Sunday evening in their third consecutive road battle against a ranked opponent in the Houston Cougars (17-1, 5-0) - losing by a score of 103-73.

The Sun Devils were coming off of a competitive loss to the Arizona Wildcats, while Houston defeated West Virginia by nearly 30 points the last time the team played.

Arizona State on SI chronicles the Sunday battle below - including naming key performers and updating fans on what's ahead for the Sun Devils.

First Half

Hurley opted to move Bryce Ford and Noah Meeusen into the Sun Devils' starting lineup against the relentless Houston defense - the Cougars started out the game in near-perfect fashion, as they blitzed Arizona State to the tune of a 17-2 lead at the 15:53 mark of the half.

The Sun Devils finally settled in after a 2-12 start to the game from the floor, as they made the next four shot attempts that followed. Houston still held onto a significant lead of 34-15 after Moe Odum was forced out due to committing his second foul of the game.

Houston's high-ceiling offense showed out in full force in the first half of action, as the team scored 56 points over the first 20 minutes of action. Six Cougars scored at least eight points in the period, while the defense forced 12 Arizona State turnovers and blocked four shots.

Second Half

The second half started out in less-than-ideal fashion for the Sun Devils, as Houston built up a lead of over 30 points.

However, Arizona State continued to battle back - outscoring the Cougars 33-23 over the first 11 minutes of action in the final frame. This cut the Houston lead to 79-62 at the under-eight timeout.

The lead sunk to 13 points before Houston's starting unit reconvened and built up a 24 point advantage with just over four minutes remaining in the contest.

The Cougars eventually completely took over the game over the final minutes of action, once again building up a 30-point lead - clearing 100 points for the first time in nearly two years in that process.

Key Performances

• Noah Meeusen - 10 PTS, 3 AST, 3-4 FG

• Bryce Ford - 10 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST

• Andrija Grbovic - 14 PTS, 4 REB

• Anthony "Pig" Johnson - 12 PTS, 5 REB, 2 STL

What's Next

Arizona State returns home for two games - taking on West Virginia on Wednesday, before squaring off against Cincinnati on Saturday.