TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Remy Martin got the shooter’s roll on a pull-up jumper with 19 seconds left, and Arizona State held on for a 66-64 win over Southern California on Saturday night.
Martin’s 22 points, 16 of those in the second half, led Arizona State (15-8 overall, 6-4 in Pac-12), which has won three straight and five of six. Alonzo Verge Jr. added 16 points as the Sun Devils rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit.
Jonah Mathews’ 22 points led USC and Daniel Utomi added 15 for USC (17-7, 6-5), which has lost three in a row.
The Trojans went ice cold for a long stretch in the second half, but came back to take the lead again late in the game. Arizona State went more than 11 minutes without a made basket, but after trailing 64-59 drew even on three Martin free throws with 2:15 to play.
Martin’s basket in the final seconds was the only field goal in the final 11:28 for the Sun Devils.
Mathews led the Trojans with 17 first-half points, although he went to the locker room briefly after he appeared to injure his right arm when he fell after a blocked layup attempt.
Rakocevic scored eight first half points, and USC took its largest lead of the half on a Utomi layup and free throw for a 33-20 lead with 5:34 until halftime.
Arizona State closed the half down 40-32, with Verge scoring 13 points in the first 20 minutes. But the Sun Devils shot just 35%.
Martin’s steal and two-handed dunk got the crowd on its feet with thunderous applause, and USC went more than 3 1/2 minutes without a point.
BIG PICTURE
USC: The Trojans have a good opportunity to turn things around with home games against two of the Pac-12’s lower-echelon teams next week, Washington and Washington State. A 72-40 drubbing at the hands of the Huskies in in Seattle last month should be at the forefront of their thoughts this week.
Arizona State: The Sun Devils head to the Bay Area next week with plenty of confidence as they surged into the top four of the Pac-12. But at only 15 total wins, a great regular season finish over the final eight games — and probably a win or two in the conference tournament — will be necessary to be considered for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
UP NEXT
USC returns home to host Washington on Thursday night.
Arizona State faces Stanford on the road Thursday night.
