Sun Devil persistence pays dividends in overtime win

January 09, 2008

By Matt Storey, ASU Media Relations<separator></separator>The ASU men's basketball team defeated Arizona 64-59 in an overtime thriller Wednesday night in front of a sellout crowd of 13,947 at Wells Fargo Arena.<separator></separator>"It was especially good to have such a great atmosphere here tonight," head coach <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/sendek_herb00.html">He… Sendek</a> said. "I just want to thank all the Sun Devils who came out and supported us tonight. It most certainly provided us with a great atmosphere."<separator></separator>For the Sun Devils, it is their ninth straight win and improves them to 13-2 on the season. It also gives them a 3-0 start in the Pac-10 for just the third time in school history.<separator></separator>Freshman guard <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/harden_james00.html">J… Harden</a> scored a career-high 26 points, 22 coming in the second half and overtime, and had a team-high nine rebounds to help the Sun Devils end a 12-game losing streak to the Wildcats.<separator></separator>"My teammates did a great job getting me the ball, setting screens, doing everything to get me open shots," Harden said. "So, all the thanks should go to them for getting me good shots."<separator></separator>Junior forward <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/pendergraph_jeff00.htm… Pendergraph</a> was the only other Sun Devil to score in double figures, as he had 14 points in the victory.<separator></separator>"It feels really good," Pendergraph said of his first win over Arizona in five games at ASU. "They're a really good team. We knew that this was going to be a war and this was going to come down to the wire. We toughed it out and got it."<separator></separator>The Wildcats were led by forward Jordan Hill, who had 18 points and 14 rebounds. Forward Chase Budinger had 14 points but went 4-13 from the field, including 2-10 from outside the arc.<separator></separator>Neither team shot the ball well, with ASU shooting 39.6 percent from the field and Arizona 38.9 percent. The Wildcats were 6-21 and the Sun Devils were 4-16 from 3-point range.<separator></separator>"I thought both teams played really hard," Sendek said. "It wasn't necessarily artistic. Probably both teams missed some shots that they normally make, but there was a lot of heart out there tonight by both teams."<separator></separator>After a <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/abbott_ty00.html">Ty Abbott</a> blocked shot and fast-break dunk gave ASU a 4-2 lead, the Wildcats went on a 9-0 run and held the Sun Devils scoreless for more than seven minutes.<separator></separator>Arizona led by as many as 12 in the first half, but the Sun Devils cut the lead to seven by the break, helped by a late 3-pointer by <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/polk_christian00.html"… Polk</a> and a blocked shot by <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/boateng_eric00.html">E… Boateng</a> on the Wildcats' last possession of the half.<separator></separator>Arizona held the lead for nearly the entire second half, but the margin was never greater than five points over the last 14 minutes of regulation.<separator></separator>The Wildcats led 55-50 with 1:53 to play, but an Abbott 3-pointer and a driving lay-up by Harden on ASU's next two possessions tied the game and eventually forced overtime.<separator></separator>Harden's free throw in overtime gave ASU a 56-55 lead, its first lead since 4-2. Harden would score ASU's first five points of overtime to give his team a 60-59 lead with less than a minute left.<separator></separator>After a defensive stop, Pendergraph put back an offensive rebound to give the Sun Devils a three-point lead with 12 seconds remaining.<separator></separator>Budinger then missed a 3-pointer, and Pendergraph made two free throws to seal the victory.