Sun Devils and Wildcats take their fierce rivalry to the court
TUCSON – Tra Holder picked off the pass and darted downcourt, looking to give No. 3 Arizona State the lead and quiet a sea of red inside the McKale Center.
Holder’s layup was contested and fell off the rim. Teammate Shannon Evans timed his jump perfectly but couldn’t get a rebound tip to fall. Arizona took possession and rallied, a key reversal in the No. 17 Wildcats’ 84-78 win in both schools’ Pac-12 opener Friday night.
The last unbeaten team in college basketball, ASU dropped to 12-1. Arizona won its eighth in a row, improving to 11-3.
After Holder’s miss in transition, Arizona scored eight of the game’s next nine points. Senior Parker Jackson-Cartwright hit a jumper. Junior Allonzo Trier canned a 3-pointer. Freshman Deandre Ayton, the night’s biggest force, scored inside and just like that, the Wildcats led 73-64.
This was billed as a matchup between ASU’s speed and Arizona’s size. The size
won. Or rather Ayton did. Like everyone else, ASU had no answer for the 7-1 freshman. Ayton had 21 points, 19 rebounds and three assists. The Sun Devils tried double-teaming him. They tried keeping him off the boards. Nothing worked.
And yet ASU still had a chance. Even with Romello White – their leading rebounder and third-leading scorer fouled out for the final five minutes – the Sun Devils made a final surge. Brilliant all game, Holder hit a 3 to bring them within 76-73 with 2:14 to go.
A minute later, senior guard Kodi Justice hit a 3 to pull the Sun Devils within 78-76, but Arizona didn’t fold. Ayton tipped in a Trier miss, and Trier and Brandon Randolph hit free throws to seal the win.
Arizona shot 55.6 percent in the second half. After a poor first half, Trier scored 18 of his 23 points over the final 20 minutes.
Holder led the Sun Devils with 31 points, hitting 15 of 16 from the foul line. Freshman guard Remy Martin added 11 points. Sophomore forward Mickey Mitchell added 10 points and seven rebounds. ASU shot just 32.4 percent in the second half, making 3 of 15 from the 3point range.
The first half lived up the hype, both teams trading mini-bursts. Behind sophomore guard Rawle Alkins, Arizona grabbed a 9-3 lead. Behind Martin, ASU answered.
With three minutes left, junior forward De’Quon Lake scored inside to give the Sun Devils a 32-30 lead. After Alkins missed, Justice hit a 3 for a 35-30 margin with 2:10 left in the half.
Arizona surged. Trier, who had missed his first six shots, buried a transition 3, igniting the McKale Center crowd. After an ASU turnover, Trier hit two foul shots to knot the score. Over ASU’s previous seven visits here, the Wildcats had led by at least nine points every time.
This time, Arizona’s lead was just 3937.