Las Vegas, NV (Sports Network) - Larry Drew II scored 20 points, with four
rebounds and four assists, as No. 20 UCLA rallied past Arizona State, 80-75,
in quarterfinal action in the inaugural Pac-12 Tournament.
Shabazz Muhammad totaled 16 points and nine boards for the Bruins (24-8), the
top overall seed who will take on the winner of the later Arizona-Colorado
contest in a Friday semifinal.
Jordan Bachynski's game-best 22 points wasn't enough for the Sun Devils
(21-12), who had topped Stanford in a Wednesday matchup. Jahii Carson added 21
points, seven assists and six rebounds in the setback.
Bachynski's bucket just prior to the midway point of the second half staked
ASU to a seemingly-insurmountable 62-50 advantage, but UCLA chipped away
steadily to wrestle away the victory.
David Wear and Muhammad connected on consecutive possessions to reduce the
deficit to eight and start the comeback, and later in the run Muhammad's tip-
in pulled the Bruins within two and Drew's three-pointer gave them a 67-66
edge with just under five minutes to play.
Both sides took turns with the lead until two free throws by Evan Gordon made
it 74-72 for the Sun Devils inside of two minutes remaining. Gordon then
missed the last of two from the line with 1:19 on the clock and it was 75-74.
Wear then connected on consecutive jumpers to put UCLA back on top by a 78-75
margin, and sealed the game with two makes from the charity stripe in the
final seconds.
Arizona State used a short 10-5 burst through the mid-point of the first half
to take a 25-17 edge on a triple from Jonathan Gilling.
Gordon's make from beyond the arc finished off an 8-2 run and gave the Sun
Devils a 37-26 lead, which would be 41-33 at intermission.
Game Notes
UCLA has won 62 of the 81 all-time meetings with ASU ... Wear finished with 15
points and six rebounds ...Gilling had 17 points with seven boards and three
assists ... Bachynski totaled a game-high three blocks.
The Sports Network