Jan. 5, 2006
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) - Lodrick Stewart made USC's second 3-point attempt in the final seconds, and the Trojans rallied for a 66-65 win over Arizona State on Thursday night.
Stewart, scoreless until his fifth shot of the night dropped with 2.1 seconds left, got the ball from 5-foot-11 Ryan Francis, who somehow came away with the rebound after Gabe Pruitt missed.
The Sun Devils' Kevin Kruger was off-target with a 50-footer as the buzzer expired.
Pruitt had 30 points and Nick Young 24 for the Trojans (11-3, 2-1 Pac-10), who won for the 11th time in 12 games after dropping their first two. Their four-point loss to Cal on Dec. 29 snapped a nine-game winning streak.
Stewart had scored at least 16 points in six straight games before going 1-for-5 in this one.
Serge Angounou led Arizona State (6-6, 0-3) with a season-high 19 points. Jeff Pendergraph had 16 points, eight rebounds and three blocks, and Bryson Krueger scored 14 points while Kruger added 11.
The Sun Devils went ahead 43-34 on Angounou's 16-foot jumper with 16:41 left in the game.
But Pruitt had 10 points - six on dunks - during a 15-5 run that carried USC to a 49-48 lead in the next 6:23. The lead changed hands three more times, the last on Pendergraph's layup for a 52-51 Arizona State lead at the 8:56 mark.
The Sun Devils had two six-point leads in the final 3:36, going up 63-57 on two free throws by Kruger with 2:00 remaining.
Pruitt and Young made 3-pointers to tie it at 63 before Krueger made two free throws to give Arizona State a 65-63 lead with 27 seconds to go.
Angounou made five baskets and two free throws in 4:50 of the first half, outscoring the Trojans 12-5 while sending Arizona State to a 19-13 lead - biggest of the half for either team.
But Pruitt had two 3-pointers and a three-point play in a 9-3 run of his own, giving USC 26-25 and 29-28 leads before the Sun Devils finished with 3-pointers by Krueger and Kruger for a 34-31 halftime lead.