Freshman guard Tra Holder drives to the basket against Arizona, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015 at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. The Sun Devils defeated the Wildcats 81-78. (Ben Moffat/The State Press)ASU (12-11, 4-6 Pac-12) upset No. 6 Arizona (20-3, 8-2 Pac-12) 71-68 on Saturday, just a week to the day that the Sun Devils accomplished the same feat against the then-No. 2 Wildcats last year.
They did so, however, with two players who didn't play a key role in last year's win.
The first half belonged to freshman guard Tra Holder. The second belonged senior guard to Bo Barnes.
Holder had an explosive first half, leading his team with 10 points. Holder shot 50 percent from the field on 3-for-6 shooting, including a three pointer. He also was perfect from the line, going 3-for-3.
“I’m just really enjoying watching him improve and get better," ASU coach Herb Sendek said. "I’m so proud of him. His attitude is so good. His work ethic is improving. He has such a great heart. He is so easy to cheer for, and to see him improve game in and game out the way he is, is incredible. I thought he was terrific.”
Holder also set up his teammates, tallying up five assists in the half.
“He’s a pass first guard," sophomore forward Savon Goodman said. "Tra is a phenomenal point guard, and he plays with heart. When he gets into those seams and drives the ball, we have to close out our man and look for the ball, because the pass is coming sometime.”
His performance electrified the crowd and bolstered play from his teammates, who performed very well in the second half.
One of these teammates was Barnes, who would ultimately win the game for the Sun Devils in finishing with a team-high 18 points. Eight of these points came from the free throw line, where Barnes led his team, going a perfect eight-for-eight from the charity stripe.
“My teammates were just telling me to relax,” Barnes said. “We shoot them all the time in practice, so I was just trying to think of that every time and just put them in.”
Barnes also hit a clutch three-pointer late in the game to give ASU enough of a lead to seal the win. Everyone would be talking about “The Shot.”
“It felt pretty good,” Barnes said. “I saw the shot clock running down, so I was just trying to get it up there. The coaches always say keep confident in yourself, Tra did a great job of driving and collapsing my guy, and he helped just a little bit. It was a great pass by him.”
“From out view it looked like it was on target,” Sendek said. “We held our breath. It was a huge shot. Today that shot went for us. Today was a different story.”
“We play against Bo all day in practice and all summer, and I had confidence he was hitting his shot,” Goodman said. “In practice he hits that shot. All this summer and open gym he hits that shot. Our team is confident that Bo can hit. I give him credit, he took it with confidence and knocked the shot down.”
Because of Barnes and Holder’s performance, the Sun Devils were able to defeat their biggest rival, the Arizona Wildcats.
“It’s a great day for our guys," Sendek said. "I’m just so happy for our players. I don't want to get too mushy, but I’m telling you, we have terrific guys. They are easy to cheer for. I love coaching them. We've had some tough loses, but these guys show up the next day, face the music. They want to learn, they want to get better, and in my book, that has to count for something. They deserve this.”
“Every time you beat U of A, it’s an amazing feeling.” Barnes said.
Reach the reporter at mtsteine@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @MarcTSteiner
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