Arizona State outlasts No. 3 UCLA in triple overtime

By JOHN MARSHALL

TEMPE, Ariz. — UCLA coach Mick Cronin warned his players even before the season started: their run to the Final Four of last year’s NCAA Tournament would put a target on their backs this season.

A struggling Pac-12 opponent took aim on Saturday night and the result was a lost week in the desert for the Bruins.

Arizona State set off a wild late-night court storming, getting 24 points from Marreon Jackson and 16 from Jalen Graham to outlast third-ranked UCLA, 87-84, in triple overtime.

“There’s a great responsibility when you play for UCLA and you’re coming off a Final Four,” Cronin said. “Teams can’t wait to play you and we weren’t ready for that this week.”

The Sun Devils (7-13 overall, 3-7 Pac-12) built a 10-point lead with a 21-4 run spanning halftime, but they couldn’t shake the Bruins (16-4, 8-3).

UCLA rallied to force overtime, withstood Jackson’s 3-pointer at the end of the first extra period and DJ Horne’s corner 3-pointer at the buzzer of the second.

Arizona State seemed to have the game put away, going ahead 84-78, but UCLA still had life. Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored on a layup with 16 seconds left and, after a Sun Devils turnover, Tyger Campbell hit a difficult layup with 7.2 seconds left to make it 86-84.

Jackson hit one of two free throws and Arizona State fouled Jaquez with 2.2 seconds left. Jaquez missed the first free throw and, after intentionally missing the second, Peyton Watson missed a wild 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Following a brief delay to let the Bruins get off the court, Arizona State’s students rushed the floor after the Sun Devils’ third win over a top-three opponent in 41 years.

Jaquez finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds, and Johnny Juzang added 20 points for the Bruins.

UCLA is the Pac-12’s second-highest scoring team, but struggled against No. 7 Arizona’s pressure Thursday night, shooting 38% in a 76-66 loss.

The Bruins looked as though they were back on track against Arizona State. They turned to Jaquez early and the 6-foot-7 junior delivered, scoring 11 points in the first nine minutes as UCLA’s offense flowed into a six-point lead.

The Sun Devils tightened up defensively after that and good looks were harder to come by. UCLA had a stretch of 6½ minutes without a field goal and Arizona State closed the first half on a 13-4 run to lead 34-32. The Bruins made one field goal over the final 8:24.

“Their activity, their excitement to be in this game far exceeded ours for the first 25-30 minutes,” Cronin said. “Their energy, effort was off the charts.”

UCLA kept missing to open the second half – six straight – and Arizona State continued its run, pushing the lead to 42-32.

The Bruins later had a six-minute stretch without a field goal, but started piling up the fouls and free throws to keep Arizona State within reach. UCLA then hit four straight shots to go up 58-56 and the teams went back and forth over the final 2½ minutes of regulation.

“I’ve played in a lot of games in great atmospheres, but beating the No. 3 team in the country, I don’t think it gets any better than that,” Jackson said.

BIG PICTURE

UCLA ran into a defensive wall in the desert, struggling to hit shots in both games. The Bruins, who are now two games behind first-place Arizona in the conference standings, could see a big drop in next week’s AP Top 25.

Arizona State grinded down another opponent with its defense. The Sun Devils finally got rewarded for it with their biggest win of the season.

UP NEXT

UCLA plays at Stanford on Tuesday.

Arizona State hosts No. 7 Arizona on Monday.