Edwards helps Arizona St. hold on, edge Oregon St. 70-67
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) – Rob Edwards’ 13 points included two clutch free throws in the final seconds, and Arizona State held on to hand Oregon State its first Pac-12 loss of the season, 70-67 on Thursday night.
The Sun Devils (12-5, 3-2 in Pac-12) have won 10 straight games over the Beavers at Wells Fargo Arena.
Zylan Cheatham had 10 points and 13 rebounds, and five Sun Devils scored in double figures to offset a pair of 21-point performances from Oregon State’s Tres Tinkle and Ethan Thompson.
Oregon State rallied from an 18-point second-half deficit to trail by one and almost took the lead.
Cheatham slammed home a missed shot for a 68-64 lead, but Tinkle hit from distance again to make it a one-point game with 22 seconds left. Oregon State stole the ball on the inbounds pass after a timeout but turned the ball over a moment later.
With a stunned crowd on its feet, Edwards hit a pair of free throws with 12.1 seconds left, and Thompson’s 3 to tie the game was rushed and well off target at the buzzer.
The Sun Devils turned a nine-point halftime lead into a 40-22 advantage with a fast start to the second half. They scored the first nine points while the Beavers missed their first six attempts.
Oregon State (11-5, 3-1) made it a tight game in the final minutes with a furious comeback, but came up short.
Arizona State opened the game making just one of its first seven shots and trailed 10-4 before going on a 10-0 run.
The Beavers went ice cold, going more than eight minutes without a field goal in the first half. The Sun Devils went ahead 26-15 on a 3 from Rob Edwards at the 4:20 mark.
Arizona State finished the half up 31-22. Neither team shot well in the first 20 minutes, but Oregon State was just 7 of 27 as a team. Arizona State made only 4 of 10 free throws in the first half.
Thompson had 10 of his points in the first half, reaching double figures for the 10th time in his last 11 games and 11th time this season overall.
BIG PICTURE
Oregon State: The Beavers missed a chance at starting 4-0 in conference play for the first time since the 1992-93 season, but after playing at Arizona this weekend they get five of the next seven games at home. It wasn’t a surprise they made it a close game, as Oregon State’s previous four losses had come by a combined 16 points.
Arizona State: The Sun Devils had to work to put away what was shaping up to be a blowout win. Now come the Oregon Ducks on Saturday, a team the Sun Devils have struggled with at home in recent years. A win goes a long way in a wide-open Pac-12.
UP NEXT
Oregon State plays at Arizona on Saturday.
Arizona State goes for a sweep of the Oregon schools when they host the Ducks Saturday night.
