Arizona State holds off Washington State, wins 58-55

PULLMAN, Wash. -- — Marreon Jackson and Jalen Graham scored 14 points apiece and Arizona State held off Washington State for a 58-55 victory on Saturday night.

Arizona State took the lead for good with 15:48 to play and led by as many as eight. Tyrell Roberts made consecutive 3-pointers to pull the Cougars to 53-52 with 2:53 left, but Jackson answered with a 3 and Graham a jumper to extend the lead to 58-52.

Michael Flowers’ 3-pointer pulled Washington State within three and the Cougars then forced a turnover with 23.2 left. But Roberts’ 3-point attempt from the top of the arc hit the front of the rim.

Yet Arizona State had another turnover on the inbounds pass on its next possession following a timeout with 4.2 left. The Cougars turned the ball over on a cross-court pass on the inbounds to end it.

Luther Muhammad added 12 points for Arizona State (8-15, 4-9 Pac-12), which shot 56% (14 of 25) in the second half and finished with 33 points from the bench compared to 14 by the Cougars.

Roberts scored 14 points with four 3-pointers for Washington State (14-9, 7-5). Mouhamed Gueye added 12 points. Flowers, who has averaged 18.8 points in the last four games, finished with six on a pair of 3-pointers.

The Cougars made 10 shots from long range but finished 18-of-59 (30.5%) shooting from the field.

Arizona State snapped a two-game skid since upsetting then-No. 3 UCLA 87-84 in triple overtime on Feb. 5.

Washington State, which lost to fourth-ranked Arizona on Thursday, has lost consecutive games since ending a five-game winning streak.

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