Sun Devils top Utah 55-54 in overtime
Carrick Felix recorded his fourth career double-double to power the Arizona State men's basketball team past the Utah Utes, 55-54, to tip Pac-12 competition in an overtime thriller at Wells Fargo Arena.
The Sun Devils improve their record to 12-2 on the season and 1-0 in the Pac-12 for the first time since the 2008-09 season. Utah falls to 8-5 this year and 0-1 in the Pac-12 for the second consecutive year.
Three Sun Devils scored in double figures to lead ASU, highlighted by Felix's double-double. He scored a team-high 17 points and anchored the Devils with 13 rebounds. Jahii Carson struggled from the field most of the night, but made crucial shots that tied the game in regulation and won it in overtime. Carson finished with 15 points. Jordan Bachynski added 14 points, many of which kept ASU in the game in the beginning of the second half.
Utah held Arizona State scoreless for over four minutes early in the first half, and used a 9-0 run to lead the Sun Devils, 9-6, at the second official timeout. Bachynski made two of his first three shots to give ASU the early 4-0 lead, but the Sun Devils went cold quickly thereafter, making only one of their next 10 shots from the field.
Felix accounted for 10 straight ASU points and recorded a block during the Devils' 12-2 run, putting the Sun Devils on top, 21-17, at the final official timeout in the first half. At halftime, ASU held onto a 25-24 lead, after the Utes controlled the final minutes of the half. Felix led all scorers with 10 points at the break, while Jason Washburn nearly had a double-double at the break for the Utes, with eight points and nine boards. Neither team shot particularly well from the field, with ASU shooting a 39.3 percent clip and Utah being just below at 35.7 percent.
Despite the continued shooting struggles for Arizona State to begin the second half, Bachynski kept pace with the Utes, scoring all eight ASU points, allowing the Devils to maintain a 33-31 lead at the first official timeout of the half.
The teams traded baskets through the middle of the half until Utah was able to overtake the Sun Devils, 42-41 with 6:22 remaining in the game, as a result of a 6-0 run that kept ASU scoreless for just over three minutes late in the half.
Felix finally broke the run with a free throw, followed by a layup on the next possession, and the Sun Devils regained the lead at the final official timeout, 44-42, with 2:47 remaining in the game.
Utah jumped back on top of the Devils, following a 7-2 run, but Carson drained a crucial three with a minute to play, knotting the game, 49-49. Neither team was able to get anything going offensively on their final possessions, sending the game to overtime.
Bachynski put the first points on the board in overtime, draining a jumper a minute into the period to give ASU a 51-49 lead. Utah countered with a layup to tie the game for the eighth time of the night, but Ruslan Pateev broke the tie with a layup on the Devils' following possession. Sloppy ball handling kept the score stalled into the final minute of overtime, before Jarred DuBois hit a deep three pointer to give the Utes a one-point advantage with 41 seconds remaining. Carson delivered a hard-fought layup on the following play to give the Sun Devils the lead, and Utah the last shot. Arizona State's defense held strong in the final seconds of the game, denying the Utes on four opportunities to deal a devastating blow.
Under Coach Sendek, the Sun Devils are 7-4 in overtime games. Before tonight, ASU had not played in an overtime game since a 73-72 loss to UCLA on Jan. 29, 2011.
Both squads struggled shooting from the field, with ASU shooting slightly better, recording 37.1 percent on 23-62 from the field. Utah shot 34.5 percent on 20-58 from the field. The Utes outrebounded Arizona State, 44-39, but only had seven second-chance points compared to 15 for the Devils. ASU also had 30 points in the paint, while Utah had 20.
Utah was led by the efforts of Washburn, who had a game-high 19 points and 18 rebounds. Jordan Loveridge also anchored the Utes on the glass, pulling in 11 rebounds to go along with nine points. DuBois added 12 points for Utah.
The Sun Devils will return to action on Sunday, hosting Colorado at 6 p.m MT, to conclude their home stand.