Arizona State survives wild ending to beat Washington
Feb 16, 2017, 11:47 PM
Arizona State guard Torian Graham gets past Washington's Markelle Fultz, right, and Dominic Green (22) to make a shot in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017, in Seattle. Arizona State won 83-81. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
The Sun Devils can breathe out.
Arizona State held off Washington 83-81 in Seattle, but not after a wild finish Thursday.
Rewind the game to when ASU led 80-77 with 10 seconds remaining. Huskies guard Markelle Fultz was met at the rim by the Sun Devils before ASU guard Tra Holder ripped down the rebound, but Washington’s Carlos Johnson then wrapped up Holder and flung him to the ground.
That warranted a flagrant on Johnson, but Holder’s response — to shove Johnson — elicited a technical on him.
After everything was sorted out, Holder made two free throws for Johnson’s Flagrant I. Because Holder had followed with a technical, however, the Huskies were awarded possession after Matisse Thybulle hit UW’s two foul shots, pulling the home team within 82-79.
With the ball, Fultz burned clock and then missed a three, but Washington got the offensive board and scored a layup to make it 82-81.
The Sun Devils inbounded and were fouled with 1.1 seconds remaining, and though ASU’s Torian Graham hit the first free throw, Arizona State was called for a lane violation while he attempted the second.
And with that, Washington inbounded with the length of the court to go but trailing by two. Fultz caught the inbound and his halfcourt attempt clanked off the front of the iron as the Sun Devils held on.
Graham scored 29 points and Arizona State won consecutive conference games for the first time this season with an 83-81 victory over Washington on Thursday night.
Tra Holder added 21 points and Shannon Evans II had 13 for the Sun Devils (13-14, 6-8 in Pac-12). Graham finished 12-of-23 shooting, adding five rebounds.
Fultz scored 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting for the Huskies (9-17, 2-12). The freshman guard, who entered the evening as the Pac-12’s leading scorer at 23.2 points per game, missed the previous two games with a sore knee. Johnson pitched in a career-high 19 points for Washington, which lost its eighth consecutive game.
Arizona State opened the game on a 13-2 run punctuated by a spinning layup by Graham. Washington gradually played its way back into contention, however.
David Crisp tied the score at 39 with a reverse layup and Fultz gave the Huskies their first lead with a long jumper shortly afterward, setting the halftime score at 41-39. Washington outscored the Sun Devils 26-9 over the final 7:32 of the first half.
The teams traded 3-pointers and leads during the opening sequence of the second half, neither able to control momentum for long.
Arizona State’s Obinna Oleka broke a 71-71 tie with an uncontested dunk, sparking a 6-0 Sun Devils run that was enough for ASU to hang onto the victory.
BIG PICTURE
Arizona State: The Sun Devils completed a season sweep of Washington for the first time since 2002-03.
Washington: This might have been the Huskies’ last chance to pick up a third conference win. The Huskies host No. 5 Arizona this weekend before closing their season with three consecutive road games.
UP NEXT
Arizona State: The Sun Devils travel to Washington State on Saturday.
Washington: The Huskies host No. 5 Arizona on Saturday.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
