Feb. 5, 1998
Emotional Victory for Arizona State
Arizona St. 82, Washington St. 68TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) - Jeremy Veal scored 20 points to lead five Arizona State players in double figures as the Sun Devils pulled away Thursday night for an emotional 82-68 victory over Washington State.
Arizona State's top reserve, Urit Kelly, learned just hours before the game that his father had died in his native land of the Bahamas. Kelly scored seven points.
Arizona State (15-8, 5-5 pac-10), coming off of its biggest win of the season at Stanford on Saturday, shot 57 percent in the second half as it turned a 34-30 halftime advantage into the lopsided win.
Kab Kazadi led Washington State (8-13, 1-9) with 14 points.
Carlos Daniel, who tied a career-high with 28 points in a 65-64 loss to the Sun Devils on Jan. 11, led the Cougars with 12 points and 10 rebounds in the second half.
Arizona State's Michael Batiste scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the first half. After shooting 0-for-4 from behind the arc in the first half, the Sun Devils hit 6-of-12 in the second half. That outside shooting helped Arizona State break open a close game as the Sun Devils swept the Cougars for the first time since 1991-92.
In the second half, Veal, Eddie House and Ahlon Lewis hit 3-pointers to key a 14-0 run that gave the Sun Devils a 55-38 lead. House scored seven points in the run.