Field Level Media
Feb 4, 2018
Senior guard Shannon Evans II had 23 points and five steals and No. 25 Arizona State held off a challenge from Washington State before registering an 88-78 victory over the Cougars on Sunday in Pac-12 play at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman, Wash.
Freshman forward Romello White had 21 points on 10-of-11 shooting and collected nine rebounds for the Sun Devils (17-6, 5-6). Senior guard Tra Holder added 20 points for Arizona State, which shot 70.4 percent from the field in the second half and finished at 55.7.
Sophomore guard Malachi Flynn scored 22 points to pace Washington State (9-13, 1-9), which lost its fifth straight game and ninth in the past 10 meetings.
Junior guard Viont'e Daniels and junior forward Robert Franks added 18 points apiece, and sophomore guard Carter Skaggs had 14 points for the Cougars. Washington State was 12 of 31 from 3-point range but committed 18 turnovers.
The score was knotted before the Sun Devils used a 12-2 run to open up an 84-74 lead with 2:54 to play. Holder scored the final five points during the surge.
Washington State didn't trail by fewer than eight points the rest of the way.
The Sun Devils opened the second half with an 11-2 run to take a 51-40 lead on Holder's jumper with 16:57 remaining.
Flynn drained a 3-pointer and then recorded a steal and a layup to get Washington State within 57-54 with 13:03 left. The Cougars caught the Sun Devils at 59 on a 3-pointer by Skaggs with 11:28 left and Daniels and Skaggs knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers a short time later as Washington State took a 65-61 advantage with 9:43 remaining.
Evans buried a 3-pointer to give Arizona State a 68-67 edge with 7:33 left and the Cougars later tied the score at 72 with 5:53.
Evans scored 15 first-half points as Arizona State held a 40-38 lead at the break. Both Daniels and Franks had 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the half.
Franks capped a 9-0 burst with a layup as the Cougars opened up a 17-9 advantage with 12:03 left in the first half. The Sun Devils recovered to trail by one but Washington State put together a mini 5-0 run in which Skaggs hit with a 3-pointer to give his squad a 29-23 advantage with 6:50 to play.
Evans and Holder drained 3-pointers and Evans stole the ball and drove for a layup during Arizona State's 8-0 response for a 31-29 edge with 5:43 remaining.
--Field Level Media