Temple, AZ (Sports Network) - Evan Gordon poured in 28 points while Carrick
Felix and Jonathan Gilling both registered double-doubles to help the Arizona
State Sun Devils pick up a 98-93 victory over the USC Trojans in a Pac-12
overtime thriller at Wells Fargo Arena.
Felix finished with 16 points and 10 boards while Gilling tallied 13 points,
11 boards, and six assists for Arizona State (15-4, 4-2 Pac-12). Jahii Carson
also made his mark by producing 21 points and eight assists to help the Sun
Devils avoid a third loss in a row.
Jin Fontan paced USC (8-12, 3-4) with 25 points, J.T. Terrell scored 20, and
Byron Wesley finished with 15 points. Eric Wise notched a double-double of 19
points and 10 boards for USC, which dropped a decision for the second time in
three games.
ASU went up, 37-29, with 3:45 left in the opening stanza, but the Trojans
rallied back and Wise drained a 3-pointer in the closing seconds to send the
game into the intermission knotted up at 42-42. Both sides scored 11 points
off of turnovers before the break.
The second period was almost a mirror image of the first, as the Sun Devils
held an 80-71 lead with only 2:51 left in regulation. Once again, USC staged a
comeback. Felix missed one of two free throws with eight seconds showing on
the game clock, which put ASU ahead, 85-82, as possession returned to the
visitors. Fontan picked up his dribble at the top of the key, and after a
series of pivots, sent the game into overtime by sinking a game-tying trey
just before the buzzer.
The Sun Devils tallied seven second chance points in the extra session to
escape with the win.
The hard-fought contest was reflected in the rebounding battle, with ASU
holding a narrow 40-38 edge on the glass.
GAME NOTES:
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