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ASU tops No. 2 Arizona in 2 OT

Feb 15, 2014 - 5:56 AM Tempe, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - Jermaine Marshall capped off a 29-point night by hitting the go-ahead basket with 14.7 seconds left, giving Arizona State a thrilling 69-66 double-overtime win over No. 2 Arizona at Wells Fargo Arena.

Jahii Carson added 17 points and Jordan Bachynski had 13 along with eight blocks, none bigger than his rejection of T.J. McConnell in the final seconds that sealed the Sun Devils' first-ever victory over a top-five opponent on their home court since Feb. 20, 1992, when Arizona State (19-6, 8-4 Pac-12) knocked off the then fifth-ranked Wildcats.

Arizona State also avenged a stinging 91-68 pasting at the hands of its in- state rival in Tuscon back on New Year's Day.

McConnell led Arizona (23-2, 10-2) with 17 points and Nick Johnson had 14 along with nine rebounds, but the Wildcats were held to just a 35.9 percent shooting percentage while struggling mightily at the foul line, making good on just 16-of-30 attempts from the stripe.

Kaleb Tarczewski and Aaron Gordon each posted double-doubles in the loss, Arizona's second in four games since a 21-0 season start. The swoon has coincided with the season-ending loss of starting forward Brandon Ashley, who tore a ligament in his right foot in the Wildcats' 60-58 setback to California on Feb. 1.

Tarczewski finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds, with Gordon compiling 13 points and 10 boards.

Arizona owned a 63-59 lead with under two minutes left in the second OT after Gordon drove the lane and scored on consecutive possessions, but Marshall buried a pair of 3-pointers around two Tarczewski free throws to forge a 65-65 tie with 55.6 seconds remaining.

Gordon was fouled on the Wildcats' ensuing trip and made the second try to put the Pac-12 leaders back up by one. Following a timeout, Marshall then dribbled into the lane with a head of steam before throwing up a shot underneath the basket that landed through for a 67-66 ASU edge.

Arizona hurried back up the court as McConnell drove to the basket, but Bachynski -- the Pac-12's all-time leader in blocks -- swatted away the shot that led a run-out which ended with Carson throwing down a clinching slam just before the buzzer.

The Wildcats forced the first extra session by netting the last five points of regulation, with Gordon starting the surge with a 3-point play that pulled Arizona within 51-49 with 2:23 left. After Carson missed a short runner on the other end and the Sun Devils' Shaquielle McKissic turned the ball over while falling down, McConnell converted a layup off the giveaway to knot the score with 49.9 seconds showing.

A shot clock violation by ASU with 13 ticks left gave the Wildcats a chance for the win, but Gordon air-balled his attempt as time ran out.

The first overtime went scoreless over the final two minutes to create a 57-57 stalemate. Carson misfired with Gordon in his face on the Sun Devils' last possession, while Johnson had a step-back jumper go off the mark to extend the game.

Arizona's stout defense held Carson, third in the Pac-12 in scoring coming in, to a mere two points through 30 minutes of play, but the talented guard eventually got untracked. He put up six consecutive points to finish off a 15-5 run that staked Arizona State to a 47-41 lead with 7:37 remaining.

Neither team was able to generate anything offensively over the game's first 10 minutes, with Arizona State holding just an 8-7 edge at the midway mark of the opening half. Arizona began to find a groove later in the period, however, with Johnson knocking down a 3-pointer to ignite a 7-0 run that gave the Wildcats a 20-14 lead with under four minutes left in the frame.

Johnson came up with two more key buckets prior to the break, the last a driving layup in the closing seconds that sent Arizona into the locker room up by a 26-21 count.

Back-to-back 3-pointers from McKissic and Marshall put ASU on top 29-28 with just over three minutes elapsed in the second half, and the lead changed hands four more times over the next six minutes.

Game Notes

The Sun Devils had never previously beaten a team ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation at home. ASU's best victory over a ranked foe at the Wells Fargo Center had been a 95-78 triumph over No. 3 USC on Dec. 1, 1971 ... Marshall's 29 points matched a career high set during the transfer's time at Penn State, set against Michigan State on Jan. 16, 2013 ... Tarczewski's 13 rebounds tied a personal best ... Arizona finished with a 54-35 advantage on the glass ... The Sun Devils went just 15-of-26 on free throw tries.