Deandre Ayton had 23 points and 19 rebounds, including a crucial tip-in with 11 seconds to go, and No. 17 Arizona held on to hand No. 3 Arizona State its first loss of the season, 84-78 on Saturday night.
Allonzo Trier, who missed his first six shots but finished with 23 points, made a pair of free throws to put the Wildcats (11-3) ahead 82-78 with 10.3 seconds to go in the teams' Pac-12 opener and one of the most anticipated matchups in the rivalry's history.
Arizona withstood a 31-point performance by the Tra Holder of the Sun Devils (12-1), including 15 of 16 free throws. But the other two usually sharpshooting Arizona State guards, Shannon Evans and Cody Justice, were a combined 5-for-23 shooting, 2 for 14 on 3-pointers.
The Wildcats beat the Sun Devils in Tucson for the eighth straight time.
Arizona State's loss left no unbeaten teams remaining in NCAA Division I after No. 1 Villanova and No. 10 TCU lost earlier in the day.
17th ranked Arizona tops #3 ASU
Posted at 10:41 PM, Dec 30, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-31 09:15:31-05
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