After Arizona State's loss to Stanford earlier this week, coach Bobby Hurley talked about the need to use more players. His team has struggled down the stretch in recent games and the thought was maybe players were wearing down.

Hurley did that, but it didn't change the Sun Devils' fortunes as they dropped a 81-66 Pac-12 matinee to California on Saturday at Desert Financial Arena. It marked ASU's fourth straight loss and sixth in the last seven games.

The Sun Devils (11-11, 5-6) came into the contest with four starters averaging more than 30 minutes per game and the fifth starter, Alonzo Gaffney, at 26.6. Cal (9-13, 4-7) is the only other team in the Pac-12 that can claim, that but the Bears are more half-court and a little less reliant on defensive pressure, which requires a bit more energy. Seven Pac-12 teams have just two or fewer players averaging 30 minutes.

Depth is going to be an issue moving forward since ASU's only chance at making the NCAA postseason is to win the Pac-12 tournament, and that could require playing four games in as many days.

Hurley used 10 players, two more than he did on Thursday. The bench accounted for 22 points, 17 more than Cal got from non-starters. ASU tallied only 12 against bench points in 33 minutes against the Cardinal. Of course the game getting out of hand was reason enough for Hurley to get other players in the contest.

The bright spot in the otherwise dismal performance came from one of those bench players in lanky 7-foot sophomore Shawn Phillips Jr., who scored a season-high 13 points with seven rebounds, two assists and a steal in his 20 minutes.

"Shawn is only scratching the surface of what he's going to be if he stays the course and keeps focusing on getting better. His youthfulness, lack of experience, but he's got some high end ability. His ceiling is super high. He's just gotta keep showing up and working hard," Hurley said.

Phillips transferred to ASU from LSU where he saw little playing time. Hurley originally brought him in to back up Warren Washington, which would have allowed him time to develop, but Washington departed, thrusting the newcomer into a more demanding role sooner than he was ready.

Then Phillips sustained a foot injury, which sidelined him for eight games, delaying his maturation. He returned when Pac-12 play started and was on a minute restriction although Hurley said that is no longer the case.

"There are still some things he's got to learn, like in the free throw block he didn't have his hands up and we didn't get a rebound on a free throw but his impact on what we can do is very good when he's playing as active as he needs to around the basket," Hurley said.

Teammates have taken notice too.

"Shawn's back and he's getting healthy and getting out there a lot more. We need him a lot and can get him the ball down there. He's really just now getting to show what he can do," Gaffney said.

Jose Perez, the team's second-leading scorer, did not play in the second half, with Phillips starting in his place when the teams came out of the locker room. When asked about the absence of Perez in the last 20 minutes Hurley said it was a "coach's decision."

The other player who saw his playing time increase was sophomore Kamari Lands, who was in for 20 minutes, six more than he played on Thursday. He managed seven points, five rebounds, two steals and a block.

ASU trailed 38-26 at the half and failed to make much of a dent in the second although Hurley liked his team's effort more, mainly because of the play of those who aren't usually given a lot of minutes.

"We were not connected as a team in the first half. It was five individuals out there playing. Some guys didn't play well but you gotta be on the same page," Hurley said. "We could not get the group to function as a team in the first half.

"I'll coach that second-half team all year long, every game the rest of my life. That team in the second half, how we battled. It wasn't perfect. We put them on the free throw line too much, didn't defend the way we're capable of. But it was a team that, in my opinion, felt like it was pulling in the same direction, regardless of good things or bad things happening. There was a spirit about the team in the second half that I could relate to and I wanted to coach."

Part of the depth issues this season come from injuries with seniors Zane Meeks and Brycen Long both sidelined. Meeks has missed 17 games with a foot injury and doesn't appear close to a return. Long, perhaps the team's best 3-point shooter, hasn't played since Dec. 20 due to an undisclosed medical issue. Both were supposed to be key rotational players.

Hurley has two true freshman in Braelon Green and Akil Watson, whose playing time has been sporadic as they adjust to life at a Power 5 level. Neither played Thursday but they got five minutes in on Saturday. Junior college transfer Malachi Davis has been a non-factor.

Each team made 27 field goals, although ASU took 70 shots and Cal needed only 54. Cal won the boords 39-35 but the biggest difference came at the free-throw line, where the Bears hit 16 of 19 tries while ASU attempted only seven, making four.

Gaffney and Jamiya Neal each had 14 for ASU while 6-foot-11, 245-pounder Fardaws Aimaq had 20 points , 14 rebounds and five assists toi lead Cal.

The Sun Devils head back out on the road where they haven't played well. They will be in Boulder to face Colorado (15-7, 6-5) on Thursday and then move on to Salt Lake City to face Utah (15-7, 6-5) on Saturday. The Sun Devils did sweep those schools when they played in Tempe, with that couple of victories giving them a 4-0 start in Pac-12 play.

Utah and Colorado squared off on Saturday with Utah winning 73-68.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Shawn Phillips excels but Arizona State men fall to Cal for 4th straight loss