Devils fall to Cats at buzzer

It was another case of close but no go for the Arizona State Sun Devils basketball team and this one had to hurt worse than the previous four losses because it came at the hands of rival Arizona.

The visiting Wildcats got a put back by 6-foot-11 Azuolas Tubelis at the buzzer for an 84-82 victory over the Sun Devils Thursday night in Pac-12 play at Desert Financial Arena.

It marked the fifth straight loss for the first time in coach Bobby Hurley’s tenure. It was the fourth straight contest that has been decided in the last possessions, with none of those going the Sun Devils way.

The contest was knotted at 82 and the Sun Devils (4-7, 1-4) had the ball with 38 seconds left. Senior point guard Remy Martin drove to the basket with nine seconds left only to be met by Tubelis who jarred the ball loose. No foul was called and the teams raced to the other end.

James Akinjo missed the jumper but Tubelis collected the rebound and put it back in as time expired.

Hurley has been rather even keel despite the losing streak but wasn’t short on words following the contest and thought a foul should have been called to send Martin to the line.

“I thought Remy Martin, after watching it live, and then watching it again on film after, clearly was fouled by a player in the restricted area,” Hurley said. “That player did not leave his feet. He was contacted. His arms did not go straight up. And the guy should have been whistled for a foul and (Martin) put at the free throw line. “

The Wildcats (11-3, 5-3) led by as many as 11 in the first half but ASU battled back midway through the second, taking their first lead since 3-0 when Holland Woods scored on a fastbreak layup for a 45-43 lead five minutes in.

It was a hard-fought battle the rest of the way with four ties and 11 changes.