In a season that has been characterized by the ASU men's basketball team's inexperience, a veteran stepped up Thursday night to give the Sun Devils a 74-62 overtime victory against the UCLA Bruins.
Senior forward Justin Allen had season highs in scoring (11 points) - the most points he has scored since being diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease two years ago - and minutes (24). But Allen's most important contribution came in overtime, when the 6-foot-9 forward added four points and two offensive rebounds.
In the overtime period, the Sun Devils (9-12, 4-8 Pac-10) shot a perfect 12-of-12 from the free throw line while the Bruins missed all 11 shots from the field to secure the victory.
After a lethargic first half by both teams, the Sun Devils fought off an early run by UCLA (10-10, 6-6 Pac-10) in the second half with a run of their own to send the game to overtime. For the game, ASU went 19-of-20 from the charity stripe, the best free throw percentage in school history.
The Bruins started the second half on fire, jumping to a double-digit lead thanks to a 18-4 run.
At the midway mark of the second half, ASU found its touch and used a 17-5 run over a three and a half minute stretch to cut the lead to one.
With 40 seconds remaining in the game, freshman point guard Kevin Kruger hit a three-pointer from in front of ASU's bench to cut the lead to three. Senior swingman Jamal Hill then drilled a three from the top of the key with 14.8 seconds to go, tying the game at 60.
Sophomore sensation Ike Diogu led all scorers with 27 points.
Notes
*Redshirt freshman forward Serge Angounou did not dress for the game because of lateral knee pain. The right knee injury is believed to be unrelated to an injury in the same knee that forced Angounou to miss all of last season, and the first half of this season.
In ten games this season, including four starts, the 6-foot-8 forward averaged just over 14 minutes and 3.2 points per game.
*For the first time this season, redshirt freshman guard Robby Alridge dressed for a game. The 6-foot-1 walk-on is not expected to see significant playing time this season.
Up next
ASU finishes up its short home stand with a game against the USC Trojans on Saturday at 6 p.m. The Sun Devils have fond memories of the Trojans, defeating USC 100-85 in Los Angeles for their first Pac-10 win. Diogu scored 27 points, leading five Sun Devils who scored in double-digits.
The sophomore sensation was perfect from the free throw line (12-for-12) and from three-point range (3-for-3).
The Sun Devils' triple-digit scoring performance was the only time ASU has gotten to the century mark this season. ASU also set season highs in field goal percentage (.612), three-point percentage (.714) and second half points (55).
At one point in the win, the Sun Devils trailed by 14 points in the final minutes of the first half, but outscored the Trojans 55-37 to finish the game.
The last time the two teams met in Tempe, the Sun Devils jumped out to a 46-12 lead with 4:20 to go in the first half, and eventually won 108-78.
Reach the reporter at jeffrey.hoodzow@asu.edu.
