Arizona State Blows Lead, Runs Away From Cal in OT
Jan 29, 2014; Berkeley, CA, USA; California Golden Bears guard
Sam Singer(2) fouls Arizona State Sun Devils guard
Jahii Carson(1) in the second half at Haas Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports
BERKELEY — The Arizona State Sun Devils need games like this if they expect to keep up in the Pac-12 Conference. Despite blowing a 16-point lead in the second half, Jahii Carson took over in overtime, leading to a 89-78 victory.
Carson scored 11 of his 29 points in overtime for the Sun Devils (16-5, 5-3) who sit in third place in the Pac-12, behind UCLA and No. 1 Arizona. Carson added seven assists and made 12-of-16 free-throw attempts, which helped raise his yearly average to 18.9 points per game.
Jermaine Marshall scored 22 points with six rebounds and three assists, making 3-of-5 3-point attempts while going 8-for-13 from the field. He played a game-high 43 minutes and turned the ball over just twice.
The Golden Bears (14-7, 5-3) got 21 points, three assists and three steals from Justin Cobbs, but his shot at the buzzer didn’t go in and overtime was an Arizona State runaway. Tyrone Wallace added 20 points, six rebounds and two blocks, while Richard Solomon scored eight points, 13 rebounds and six assists.
DEVILS STUD
While Marshall had a solid game, we’ve got to go with Jahii Carson and his 29 points. He took over in overtime, scoring 11 points and providing easy points from the free-throw line. This team will go as far as the diminutive Carson takes them.
DEVILS DUD
Jordan Bachynski got a lot of help in the rebounding game, as the Devils outrebounded the Bears 39-32. With that said, Bachynski scored just four points with three rebounds in 22 minutes before fouling out. Not exactly a big game from 7’2″ senior from Canada.
COMING UP
The Sun Devils will travel to Stanford on Saturday, February 1st.
Michael Dunlap is an NBA credentialed writer who is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief for the Sports Illustrated/Fansided NBA site HoopsHabit.com and the Arizona Sports site HeatWaved.com. He also covers high school sports for The Arizona Republic. Follow me on Twitter @DunlapNBA.