March 4, 2006
Tempe, Ariz. - In their regular season finale, the Arizona State Sun Devils defeated the Washington State Cougars, 68-55, in front of a crowd of 6,245 at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. The Sun Devils (11-16, 5-13) were led by junior point guard Kevin Kruger who notched 20 points and collected six assists. Senior Tyrone Jackson, playing in his final game at home, added 12 points for the Sun Devils.
The two teams played even through the first half and were tied at 17-17 with 8:47 remaining. From there, the Sun Devils mounted a 10-0 run at the end of the half, holding the Cougars without a point for nearly six minutes and took a 28-24 lead into the break.
The second half opened with a quick technical foul assessed to WSU's Kyle Weaver, sparking the Sun Devils on another run, 7-0, and giving ASU a double-digit lead that they would never relinquish. The Sun Devils rode the hot hand of Kruger who shot 4-of-9 from three-point range and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. ASU shot at a 53.8 percent clip in the second half to open up the gap, leading by as many as 17 at one point.
Serge Angounou collected a career-high 16 rebounds in the game, breaking the mark he set last year against Temple with 14. Freshman Jeff Pendergraph scored in double digits for the eighth straight game with 13 points.
The Sun Devils will open up play in the Pac-10 tournament on Wednesday, which will be televised by Fox Sports Net. With the win, the Sun Devils improved to 5-13 in conference play and will face Oregon State in the first round.