The ASU men's basketball team would have liked to have more momentum going into the Pac-10 Tournament, but some is better than none.
After getting blown out of their previous two games, the Sun Devils climbed out of the bottom of the conference standings with a 68-55 victory over Washington State in the regular season finale Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena.
"It's great going into the Pac-10 Tournament with a win," senior point guard Tyrone Jackson said. "Just a little bit of success can get you going, and that's what I think it's going to do for us."
Jackson, ASU's lone senior, got the start at point guard despite coming off the bench the last 14 contests. He played only 11 minutes per game during that stretch, but responded with 12 points and three steals in the final home game of his college career.
Jackson was the team's starter the first 12 games of the season, but ASU coach Rob Evans said he didn't return to the starting lineup just because it was senior night.
"I don't give anybody minutes, he earned them," Evans said. "His attitude has been unbelievable all year long. He really ran the ballclub tonight and I thought he defended extremely well."
ASU (11-16, 5-13) trailed 19-17 with seven minutes to play in the first half, but junior guard Kevin Kruger capped an 11-0 run with a 3-pointer from the corner as the Sun Devils took a lead they would never relinquish.
The Cougars (11-16, 4-14) never came closer than their 28-24-halftime deficit.
Jackson stretched ASU's lead to double digits in the second half when he drove inside the lane and hit a runner off the glass to put the Sun Devils on top 52-41.
ASU led by as many as 17 points.
Kruger scored 20 points and dished out six assists to lead ASU, while junior forward Serge Angounou posted a career-high 16 rebounds.
The game marked the final regular season game in the career of Washington State coach and Evans' close friend, Dick Bennett, who is retiring after this season.
The two embraced and shared words after the game.
"We're longtime friends, we're golfing buddies," Evans said. "I told him, 'Good luck in retirement. Of all the people I know you deserve it,' and I said, 'I love you' and he said he loved me."
With the win ASU earned the eighth seed in the Pac-10 Tournament and will take on ninth seed Oregon State on Wednesday night in Los Angeles.
The Sun Devils swept the season series with the Beavers.
"The Pac-10 Tournament is our next assignment and anytime we have an assignment whether it's on the floor or in the classroom I tell these guys to do their very best," Evans said. "And that's what they did today."
Reach the reporter at derrik.miller@asu.edu.
