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In front of a rambunctious crowd inside the McKale Center in Tucson, the ASU men’s basketball team faced off against in state rival Arizona in the 219th meeting between the two schools Saturday afternoon.

The Sun Devils (9-8,1-4 Pac-10) entered the Territorial Cup matchup having won three consecutive games in Tucson.

However, the winning streak came to a halt on Saturday afternoon as the Wildcats (15-3, 4-1 Pac-10) reclaimed their home court by handing the Sun Devils an 80-69 loss.

Sophomore guard Trent Lockett netted 17 points along with senior guard Ty Abbott’s 14 for the Sun Devils, but ASU was unable to combat UA’s strong presence in the paint.

The Wildcats’ dynamic frontcourt lineup, which consists of sophomore Derrick Williams, junior Jesse Perry, and sophomore Solomon Hill certainly did not disappoint.

The trio of forwards combined to net 55 of UA’s 80 points and grab 17 rebounds.

“Rebounding was big for us tonight,” UA coach Sean Miller said. “We had 35 to their 21. We had 14 offensive rebounds to their four, and that’s something we’re trying to instill with the team.”

Williams powered the Wildcat offense with 31 points and 10 rebounds in his 32 minutes of work.

“We certainly didn’t do a very good job and I don’t know who has yet,” ASU coach Herb Sendek said. “He’s a tremendous player. He has the knack of getting to the foul line it seems. Once again he shot 16 free throws. I know last weekend in a game he shot 22 free throws.

“Obviously a real difference maker, a great player, 31 and 10 today, we had no answer for him.”

Behind a strong start offensively, the Sun Devils jumped out to a 12-6 lead.  A three-point play from Williams narrowed the ASU lead to one at 15-14.

Then with 10:28 left in the first half, Perry’s layup gave the Wildcats their first lead of the game.

UA would never relinquish the lead and held a 43-34 edge at halftime.

The second period began with more of the same from Williams who added a bucket and a free throw to push UA ahead 48-36.

Less than two minutes later, Williams slammed a dunk to send the home crowd into a frenzy.

The Sun Devils were down, but not out as a dunk by sophomore forward Carrick Felix cut the Wildcat lead to five with 7:31 left to play.

Lockett’s jumper at 6:37 inched ASU to within four, but that was as close as the Sun Devils would get.

The Wildcats made 10 free throw shots in the games’ final three and a half minutes to seal the eleven point victory.

A jumper from freshman center Jordan Bachynski, who entered in the second half and provided four blocks, with 41 seconds remaining was the final straw for ASU.

“Our guys continued to battle,” Sendek said. “They scratched and clawed and did everything they could. Arizona was just the better team today.”

In the end, ASU’s performance was greatly hindered by its poor rebounding, as the Wildcats outrebounded the Sun Devils by an alarming total of 35-21.

“Again, we really need to focus on the rebound,” Bachynski said. “The whole team can shoot, and shoot well, but once we can work the inside and get more proficient with the rebounds we will be in a much better position.”

Reach the reporter at gregory.dillard@asu.edu


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