USC
17-8/8-4
Arizona State
18-6/6-6
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
USC Comes Up Short At Arizona State, 80-78
February 08, 2018 | Men's Basketball, Features
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Tra Holder banked in a short jumper with 1.6 seconds to play, and Arizona State scored the last nine points of the game to stun USC 80-78 on Thursday night.
The Trojans had the final possession but couldn't get off a shot from near half-court.
Holder's 22 points led the Sun Devils (18-6, 6-6 Pac-12 Conference), who won the opener of a two-game conference set for the first time this season after losing five in a row. Shannon Evans added 21 points.
Nick Rakocevic scored 19 points and Bennie Boatwright added 18 for USC (17-8, 8-4).
The Sun Devils missed 12 free throws for the game and went five minutes without a field goal late in the second half after cutting the USC lead to one. But USC didn't score in the final 2:28 and committed three turnovers in that stretch.
Evans drilled a deep 3 with 50 seconds to play to tie the score at 78. Then Arizona State rebounded a Trojans miss to set up the winning play.
The Sun Devils trimmed the USC lead to 67-66 on an Evans 3 with 7:11 to play, but the Trojans had an answer. They scored the next eight points, capped off by Boatwright's 3 at the 5:02 mark.
Boatwright, who'd struggled to get into a rhythm early in the game, held his follow-through high for the crowd to see as he back-pedaled on defense.
The Trojans were out of sorts in the first half, going down 9-2 on a 3-pointer out of the corner from Holder. USC didn't score for almost six minutes after making its first shot of the game.
But the Trojans rallied to take a 24-20 lead after an 8-0 run. Then Boatwright got hot for USC, and his 3 with 1:05 to go in the half gave the Trojans a 37-29 lead.
Boatwright, a 6-10 junior, scored all 10 of his 12 first-half points in the final 2:40 of the half. Holder had 10 at halftime for the Sun Devils.
BIG PICTURE
USC: The Trojans missed a golden opportunity to move into a first-place tie with 13th-ranked Arizona after the Wildcats lost at home to UCLA on Thursday. Now they face the Wildcats in Tucson on Saturday.
UP NEXT
USC: At No. 13 Arizona on Saturday.
