Remy Martin scored 24 points and led a stirring second-half comeback from a 22-point deficit and Alonzo Verge Jr. hit a driving layup with nine seconds remaining as the host Arizona State Sun Devils upset the No. 22 Arizona Wildcats 66-65 in their Pac-12 matchup Saturday in Tempe, Ariz.
Rob Edwards had 15 points, including three 3-pointers, and seven rebounds, and Verge had 13 points for the Sun Devils (12-7, 3-3), who fell behind 37-15 with 5:35 left in the first half before recovering to split the season series.
Zeke Nnaji had 21 points and 10 rebounds for his eighth double-double, Nico Mannion had 16 points, including a season-high four 3-pointers, and Dylan Smith had 10 points and six rebounds for the Wildcats (13-6, 3-3), who beat the Sun Devils 75-47 in the first meeting Jan. 4 in Tucson.
Martin scored the first seven points of the second half, and Edwards' 3-pointer capped a 16-0 run spanning the halves to bring the Sun Devils within three at 43-40 with 16:27 remaining.
Martin's left-handed layup gave the Sun Devils a 60-59 lead with 4:31 remaining, their first lead since 10-9. Mannion made two free throws to put Arizona in front 65-63 with 1:41 renaming, before Jalen Graham made one free throw with 1:23 left to close to within one. The teams traded turnovers before Arizona's Stone Gettings missed a 3-pointer with 35 seconds left.
Verge hit his game-winner on the next possession, and the Wildcats' Josh Green missed a contested jumper in the lane as time expired.
Arizona had a season high 18 turnovers and shot only 28 percent in the second half, going for 7 for 25 from the field. The Wildcats are 0-4 in true road games.
It had the appearance of a runaway early.
Mannion hit his second, third and fourth 3-pointers, Nnaji had seven points and Smith had five points when the Wildcats used a 25-3 run to take 34-13 lead with 6:51 remaining in the first half. Arizona State missed 10 straight field goal attempts in that stretch and trailed by 22 points when Smith hit his second trey for a 37-15 edge.
--Field Level Media
Arizona | Arizona State | |
Zeke Nnaji 21 | Scoring | Remy Martin 24 |
Jemarl Baker Jr. 4 | Assists | Remy Martin 4 |
Zeke Nnaji 10 | Rebounds | Rob Edwards 7 |
Zeke Nnaji 9 | Free Throws Made | Jalen Graham 2 |
Stone Gettings 2 | Steals | Rob Edwards 2 |
Zeke Nnaji 2 | Blocks | Romello White 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Arizona | 65 | 40.4 | 6-20 | 13-18 | 11 | 37 | 5 | 7 | 18 |
Arizona State | 66 | 38.9 | 6-29 | 4-9 | 13 | 33 | 5 | 8 | 12 |