March 13, 2013
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Jahii Carson scored five of his 34 points in overtime, Carrick Felix had 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Arizona State held off Stanford 89-88 in the opening round of the Pac-12 tournament on Wednesday.
Meeting for the second time this season, the Cardinal and Sun Devils traded 3-pointers, dunks and small runs in an entertaining opener to the four-day tournament at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Arizona State (21-11), the tournament's ninth seed, went up six with about 2 minutes left in regulation, but Stanford (18-14) rallied, tying it at 79 on Aaron Bright's four-point play with 38 seconds left.
Carson, who missed a 3-pointer at the end of regulation, put Arizona State up three with a layup in overtime, and Evan Gordon hit 5 of 6 free throws to send the Sun Devils to the quarterfinals against No. 21 UCLA.
Gordon made 9 of 11 free throws to finish with 16 points, and Jonathan Gilling added 14 for the Sun Devils.
Bright hit six 3-pointers and had 27 points, Dwight Powell had 23 points, and Josh Huestis added 17 for the eighth-seeded Cardinal.
Both teams likely need to win the conference tournament to get into the NCAA tournament.
Arizona State got the season off to a great start, going 11-2 in nonconference and winning six of its first eight Pac-12 games to get in the hunt for the regular-season title.
The Sun Devils faded down the stretch, though, losing seven of nine, including the final four of the regular season to finish 9-9 and tied for fifth in the conference.
Stanford had an up-and-down season from the start, losing some tough games to ranked opponents early and opening the Pac-12 with four losses in six games. The Cardinal did finish the regular season strong, knocking off Utah and California to finish 9-9.
Stanford won the lone meeting against the Sun Devils 62-59 in Tempe behind Powell's 22 points and a 10-for-18 night from the 3-point arc.
The good shooting continued early; Stanford made seven of its first eight shots and Powell had seven quick points.
Arizona State fell into a 16-point hole in the first meeting before rallying with a small lineup. The Sun Devils went small earlier against Stanford and matched the Cardinal behind Felix and Carson.
Carson had 13 points by halftime and Felix had 10 points and rebounds for Arizona State, which led 35-33 after making 5 of 8 from 3-point range.
Arizona State tried to pull away midway through the second half, going up eight after Gordon hit a jumper and a 3-pointer.
The Cardinal fought back quickly behind Powell, who had a vicious one-handed rebound slam and basket inside to make it 56-54.
The Sun Devils made a couple more little runs, and Stanford kept answering to get the game to overtime.
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NOTES: Stanford's last overtime loss was a 73-65 setback against No. 5/5 Kentucky back on Nov. 25, 2010. The Cardinal had won its last three overtime games heading into today ... Stanford knocked down a Pac-12 Tournament record 15 three-pointers, its most since a 15-33 effort at Arizona on March 7, 2009 ... Four Stanford players scored in double figures for the 11th time this year ... Aaron Bright scored a season-high 27 points on 10-21 shooting while matching his career-high total of six three-pointers. Meanwhile, Bright committed his only turnover of the game at the 8:18 mark of the second half, snapping a streak of 113 consecutive minutes without a miscue. Entering today's game, Bright's last turnover was Feb. 27 against Colorado ... Dwight Powell finished with 23 points, notching his ninth 20-point game. Powell added nine boards, four assists and two blocks ... Bright completed a four-point play at the end of regulation, converting Stanford's only free throw attempt. The Cardinal was 3-3 from the charity stripe in a loss at Siena back on Nov. 17, 2007 ... Prior to Thursday, the last time two Stanford players scored at least 20 points was Feb. 16, 2012 against Oregon State, when Chasson Randle poured in 24 and Aaron Bright added 20 ... Chasson Randle was limited to five points on 2-12 shooting, snapping a streak of seven consecutive games in double figures. Since exploding for 30 points (27 in first-half) against Arizona State in last year's Pac-12 Tournament opener, Randle has scored eight points combined over the last two meetings ... Josh Huestis finished with 17 points and nine rebounds while also totaling a Pac-12 Tournament record six blocks, increasing his career total to 118, good for sixth-best in school history ... John Gage added 13 points off the bench, reaching double figures for the 10th time this year ... Head coach Johnny Dawkins employed a lineup of Aaron Bright, Chasson Randle, Andy Brown, Josh Huestis and Dwight Powell for the 15th consecutive game, the longest stretch Dawkins has used a starting combination during his tenure.