As many of the 7,521 fans started to file out of Wells Fargo Arena Thursday night, with well over three minutes left in the game, the Sun Devils' frustration began to show.
After California forward Leon Powe pulled down yet another of his 10 rebounds, ASU freshman Sylvester Seay fouled him and heated words followed.
It was the frustration of another lost opportunity, amplified by the feeling that accompanies such a helpless loss.
The Sun Devils couldn't have asked for a better start to Thursday night's home game against Cal.
ASU came out swinging, scoring nine points before Cal could light up the scoreboard.
And the Golden Bears came out whiffing, going nearly seven minutes before scoring a field goal.
But what seemed like inevitability caught up with the Sun Devils when Cal took the lead with nine minutes left in the first half and never gave it back.
Inevitability hung out under the basket and wore a blue jersey with a gold No. 44 sewn on it. It called itself Leon.
Leon Powe came into Wells Fargo already touting some hefty numbers. He led the Pac-10 in rebounds with 10.4 per game, and his own team in scoring with 19.4 per outing.
And he left down Interstate 10 toward Tucson no worse for wear, having padded his statistics with his sixth double double in 11 games, courtesy of ASU.
Powe's numbers would have been bigger had he not gotten into foul trouble early in the second half.
Not to mention the foul trouble he caused numerous Sun Devils throughout the game.
Despite Sun Devil coach Rob Evans' attempts to shuffle his front-court lineups, ASU could not come up with an answer to Cal's size on the baseline.
"Our defense was non-existent," Evans admitted after the game.
So was rebounding. Cal's two towers - Powe and DeVon Hardin - accounted for 20 total rebounds, just 10 shy of ASU's total. Hardin also owned up to his second Pac-10 ranking in blocks, nabbing a game-high two.
ASU gave up 52 second-half points. Cal pulled away with a steady ease that felt more like a slow smothering than a basketball clinic. And the fact that the 30-point blowout ties the worst home loss under Evans made the inevitable even harder to swallow.
"We have to go back to the drawing board," sophomore Antwi Atuahene said.
The guard's recent outstanding play, along with the buzz surrounding true freshman Jeff Pendergraph, has given Sun Devil faithful hope. His overtime floater gave ASU its first Pac-10 win.
But that win was to ninth place Oregon State, and ASU only gets to play them one more time.
So back to the drawing board it is.
Reach the reporter at mike.fowler@asu.edu.
