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ASU men's basketball holds on for win over UCLA

Senior forward Shaquielle McKissic dunks the ball in a game against UCLA on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015, at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. The Sun Devils defeated the Bruins 68-66. (Ben Moffat/The State Press)
Senior forward Shaquielle McKissic dunks the ball in a game against UCLA on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015, at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. The Sun Devils defeated the Bruins 68-66. (Ben Moffat/The State Press)

Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden (center) poses with the ASU student section before a game against UCLA on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015, at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. Harden, a former ASU basketball standout, was honored at halftime for his achievements both with the Sun Devils and in the NBA. (Ben Moffat/The State Press) Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden (center) poses with the ASU student section before a game against UCLA on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015, at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. Harden, a former ASU basketball standout, was honored at halftime for his achievements both with the Sun Devils and in the NBA. (Ben Moffat/The State Press)

With former Sun Devil and Houston Rockets star James Harden in the building being honored by him alma mater, the ASU men's basketball team had an extra bit of motivation to get a win. The team was pushed to the brink, but the extra did just enough.

ASU led by two with time running down. UCLA was able to get one last shot off from sophomore guard Isaac Hamilton. As the ball was released, Wells Fargo Arena held its collective breath.

Hamilton's shot hit off the back iron and the Sun Devils (14-12, 5-7 Pac-12) were able to hold on for the victory.

Video by Marc Steiner | Sports Reporter

Sophomore forward Savon Goodman had possibly his best performance of the season, making all eight of his field goal attempts, scoring 20 points and pulling down 12 rebounds, pacing all players in both categories.

Goodman said that it was his first ever game hitting that many shots without a miss and that he was unaware that he was perfect from the field until after the game ended.

Goodman has had double-digit rebounds in his last three games and double-digit points in three of his last four games, with back-to-back double-doubles.

Goodman said he obviously takes pride in his numbers, but said wins are the most important stat to him.

"It's an unbelievable feeling, but the win just iced it," Goodman said. "If we lose that game down the stretch that 20 points and 8-for-8 from the field, that doesn't mean nothing at the end of the day."

ASU coach Herb Sendek praised Goodman's performance and said it was one of the keys to ASU's victory.

"Obviously Savon had an outstanding game with a double-double," Sendek said. "He keeps getting better and better."

Senior forward Shaquielle McKissic dunks the ball in a game against UCLA on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015, at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. The Sun Devils defeated the Bruins 68-66. (Ben Moffat/The State Press) Senior forward Shaquielle McKissic dunks the ball in a game against UCLA on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015, at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. The Sun Devils defeated the Bruins 68-66. (Ben Moffat/The State Press)

ASU trailed by as many as 10 points late in the first half, but a quick 9-0 run by ASU, aided by two and-ones by senior forward Shaquielle McKissic, made the game closer at halftime.

At the half, ASU honored NBA MVP candidate James Harden, who sat courtside for the entirety of the game. Goodman said having a player like Harden there to watch and support the team inspired the Sun Devils.

"He comes here in the summer and plays pick-up with us and works out here, so we get to interact with him a lot more than your average basketball player," Goodman said. "It was a pleasure having him on the sideline and I think that definitely boosted our team's energy knowing that we had our alumni supporting us."

The lead changed hands 17 times over the course of the game, mostly in the second half and both team battled until the final horn sounded.

ASU managed to have the lead for the final five and a half minutes of the game and senior guard Bo Barnes, who was a game-time decision with an ankle injury, made a long 3-pointer to put ASU ahead by six points and seemingly ice the game.

The Bruins managed to be in position to possibly win the game in the waning seconds, but the Sun Devils walked away with their second straight win.

The win takes on a different meaning when looking at where ASU's scoring came from. The Sun Devils made only five 3-pointers in the game, which is a far cry from how they had to win in the beginning of the season.

Sendek said the overall growth of the team is shown in the fact that ASU can win in different ways.

"More recently we haven't had those games where we're making nine or 10 3's like we did at earlier parts of the season," Sendek said. "Which I think is a good sign because, if you're ultimately going to be a really good team, it's good to be able to win in different ways. If the only way you can win is if your team makes 10 3's, you become limited."

Goodman said that while he doesn't know where this season will end, he believes this team is in a very good position.

"We're just taking it one game at a time," Goodman said. "We're looking at every opponent as it's an NCAA Tournament game. At this point w'ere just taking it one game at a time and we're trying to get every victory we can."

Reach the reporter at mtonis@asu.edu or on Twitter @Tonis_The_Tiger.

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