First Quarter
BYU struck first as Gibb found Rohkohl on the roll for the opening bucket, but ASU quickly found its rhythm with a 9-4 spurt fueled by a Sun Devil triple and a pair of finishes in the paint. Rohkohl answered right back with another strong take to the rim and then swatted away an ASU attempt on the other end, setting the tone defensively.
Out of the first media timeout, the Sun Devils added a fast-break layup before Gibb stopped the run at the charity stripe. Bolanle Yussuf injected energy with a coast-to-coast finish and followed it up with another bucket to pull BYU within one. The Cougars had a chance to take the lead late, but Arizona State held a slim 13-12 edge at the end of the opening quarter.
Second Quarter
Arizona State opened the quarter aggressively, leaning on the free-throw line to fuel a 7-0 run and stretch the lead to 20-12. Sydney Benally found Hamlin in the corner for BYU’s first three of the night, but the Sun Devils answered with a triple of their own and a layup to push the margin to double figures.
Gibb came up with a timely block on the defensive end and later finished through contact. Still, Arizona State continued to capitalize on second-chance opportunities and turnovers to keep BYU at bay. The Cougars went into the break shooting just 25.0 percent in the first half, tied for their second-lowest first-half field goal percentage of the season, as the Sun Devils closed the quarter on an 8-1 run to take a 31-18 advantage at the break.
Third Quarter
The Sun Devils opened the second half with a jumper to extend the lead, but BYU answered with a strong surge sparked by Gibb. The Canadian buried a pull-up from beyond the arc, followed by a Kambree Barber triple, before Gibb set up Brinley Cannon for a corner three and hit a pull-up jumper to cap an 11-4 BYU run. BYU trimmed the deficit to 35-29, scoring more points in the first 4:23 of the third quarter than it did in either quarter of the first half.
ASU briefly pushed the lead back to nine out of the timeout, but BYU responded with timely offense. Benally found Yussuf for a finish inside, and Hamlin scored on a driving layup before knocking down back-to-back corner threes, off feeds from Gibb, to cut the margin to two.
Gibb drew a foul on a long-range attempt and made all three free throws before assisting Hamlin on another corner three to give BYU its first lead since the opening minutes. Gibb then scored at the horn to close the quarter, as BYU outscored Arizona State 28-11 in the third to take a 46-42 lead into the fourth.
Fourth Quarter
BYU wasted no time flipping the switch to open the fourth as Gibb fed Rohkohl on the block, and that ignited the moment as the Cougars went on a 16-2 run, dating back to the third. Benally kept the run rolling at the line before Gibb found Hamlin in the corner, in transition, to make it 51-42 and force an Arizona State timeout with 7:45 left.
Arizona State answered with a bucket in the paint to stop the run and then started to chip away, cutting the lead to three late in the quarter from what had been a double-digit BYU advantage. The Sun Devils mixed inside finishes with a timely 3-pointer and steady trips to the free-throw line to keep the pressure on.
With the pressure mounting, BYU stayed composed. Gibb and Benally delivered at the stripe, and Hamlin came up big with a tough floater in traffic with 13 seconds remaining to give the Cougars a five-point lead. BYU closed it out at the line to seal a gritty 66-61 road win.
Up Next
BYU returns to the Marriott Center for a senior-day matchup on Saturday, Feb. 28, against the Colorado Buffaloes at 2 p.m. MT in Provo. The game will be streamed on ESPN+, with live stats available online and the radio call on BYU Radio.
