No. 2 Arizona Falls to Rival ASU in Tempe

By Francisco Romero

Offensive woes hunted No. 2 Arizona against Arizona State Friday night.  The Sun Devils beat the Wildcats 69-66 in double overtime. It was only the second loss for the Wildcats (23-2, 10-2 Pac 12).  ASU improved to (19-6, 8-4 Pac 12).

Arizona struggled on offense all night long.  The Wildcats finished the game shooting 35.9 percent from the field and 53.3 percent from the free throw line.  The Sun Devils were only a bit better at 40 percent.

Jermaine Marshall finished the game with 29 points for the Sun Devils.  He was the key player as he scored eight points in the second overtime (2 three-pointers) to guide ASU for the win.

Arizona led at halftime 26-21.  At the end of regulation both teams had a chance to win the game, but were not able to capitalize on their opportunities.

Jordan Bachynski was crucial on both sides of the court for the Sun Devils; he finished with 13 points, eight blocked shots and seven rebounds.

The Wildcats beat ASU by 23 points in Tucson last month (Jan. 16) playing with out Marshall.  Arizona is playing with Brandon Ashley who is out because of a foot injury.  

Guard T.J. McConnell was the leading scorer for the Cats with 17 points. Nick Johnson finished with 14 points.  Kaleb Tarczewski finished with a double – double scoring 13 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.

Arizona State has won six of their last seven games and is back in the NCAA Tournament picture heading into the final stretch of the season.

This was ASU’s first win over a ranked Arizona team since 2002; it had lost 13 straight games while Arizona was ranked.

The Wildcats travel next week to Colorado and Utah before going back to McKale Center to face Oregon and Oregon State.