USC
17-7,6-5Pac-12
Arizona State
15-8,6-4Pac-12
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USC Men's Basketball Falters in Nail-Biter at Arizona State, 66-64
February 08, 2020 | Men's Basketball, Features
The Trojans (17-7, 6-5 Pac-12) controlled the game in the first half and once held a 13-point lead shortly before halftime.
The Sun Devils (15-8, 6-4 Pac-12) surged back at the start of the second half and used a 10-2 run to take the lead.
USC regained the lead nearly seven minutes later and went up five points with 2:22 left. After Arizona State guard Alonzo Verge hit two free throws, USC's Ethan Anderson fouled Remy Martin on a 3-point attempt that led to another tie.
Trojans are locking in, forcing ASU to miss its last 11 shot attempts 😤 pic.twitter.com/VCUzYyDVbS
— USC Men's Basketball (@USC_Hoops) February 9, 2020
Both teams went scoreless coming down in the final stretch until Martin hit a shot from the elbow that danced around the rim before falling with 19 seconds left. On the Trojans' final possession, Mathews tried to heave a 3-pointer over Martin but the shot fell as the buzzer sounded.
After USC shot 47.1 percent from the field in the first half, the Trojans were held to just 7-of-21 in the second. USC also only hit eight of 14 free throw attempts after halftime.
Martin finished with 22 points with five rebounds for the Sun Devils.
This is the third straight USC-Arizona State matchup that ended dramatically, with all three games being decided by two points.
In the 2019 matchup at Galen Center, USC's Bennie Boatwright hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 11 seconds left. The year before in Tempe, Arizona State's Tra Holder made a go-ahead floater with 1.7 seconds remaining.
The Trojans leave Arizona with two losses by a combined margin of only seven points. As of Saturday night, USC moved down to fifth in the Pac-12 standings, joining UCLA and Stanford with five conference losses.
The Trojans return to the Galen Center with a homestand against Washington (Salute to Service game) on Thursday and face Washington State (Gospel Night) on Saturday.
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