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ASU Basketball: Utah outlasts Sun Devils in overtime

By Zach Pekale

TEMPE, AZ - JANUARY 13: Head coach Bobby Hurley of the Arizona State Sun Devils reacts during the second half of the college basketball game against the Oregon State Beavers at Wells Fargo Arena on January 13, 2018 in Tempe, Arizona. The Sun Devils defeated the Beavers 77-75. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TEMPE, AZ - JANUARY 13: Head coach Bobby Hurley of the Arizona State Sun Devils reacts during the second half of the college basketball game against the Oregon State Beavers at Wells Fargo Arena on January 13, 2018 in Tempe, Arizona. The Sun Devils defeated the Beavers 77-75. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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ASU basketball opened a two-game homestand with an 80-77 overtime loss to Utah. The team has dropped five of its past eight games.

Arizona State got its first Pac-12 win at Utah after a game-tying shot from Justin Bibbins didn’t fall. With the Sun Devils leading by three late at home, Sedrick Barefield refused to lose the same way twice.

With 1.8 seconds remaining the junior guard stepped back and buried a long three-point attempt to send the game to overtime before ultimately winning the game. Barefield finished with a team-high 17 points.

“We didn’t guard the line the way we needed to that last play,” said head coach Bobby Hurley. “Hats off to Barefield for making a deep three but we weren’t up enough to challenge that shot.”

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Playing at home for the third time in conference play, the Sun Devils came out with a sense of urgency. They shot 70 percent for the first nine minutes of the game and led 19-12 before Utah recovered to close the half on a 28-14 run.

Pinned against the wall, ASU fought until freshman Remy Martin went on a 10-0 run in the second half to put ASU ahead 57-55. Over the final 6:33, each team landed heavy blows but the other responded.

“I just let the game come to me,” said Martin. “Coach allowed me to go out there and make plays… it doesn’t matter because we didn’t come out with the win tonight.”

It appeared the Sun Devils would hold on in regulation after an and-one and layup from Tra Holder and Shannon Evans put ASU up three with nine seconds to play. Barefield quickly got down the floor, created separation and silenced the crowd at Wells Fargo Arena.

In overtime, a stalemate ensued as Utah and ASU traded baskets before a stretch of 2:11 without a point cost the Sun Devils.

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Holder was 15-of-57 entering the game against Utah, a cold streak that started in Salt Lake City. The senior broke out of his slump against the Utes, scoring 23 points and grabbing 10 rebounds as passed Jeff Pendergraph for sixth on the school’s all-time scoring list.

Bench Breakout

For the third time in Pac-12 play, Arizona State has conceded a career night to an opposing team’s bench player. Forward Jayce Johnson had 15 points for the Utes, exceeding his per-game average of 6.3. Johnson’s performance lands him alongside numbers Roman Sorkin of Oregon and Josh Sharma of Stanford put up against ASU.

Next: ASU Basketball: 2018 Pac-12 Week 4 Power Rankings

At 3-5 in the conference, Arizona State will look to salvage the homestand against Colorado on Saturday.

All quotes in this article were obtained firsthand by Devils in Detail unless otherwise noted.

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