Arizona State surprises No. 23 USC, 74-67

Arizona State turned up the defense and gave No. 23 USC a loss it didn’t see coming.

The Sun Devils were supposed to be the warmup act before the Trojans faced No. 17 Arizona on Sunday night.

But Tra Holder scored 20 points, Savon Goodman added 17 and Arizona State knocked off USC, 74-67, on Friday night.

Nikola Jovanovic had 25 points and 15 rebounds for the Trojans (18-6, 8-4 Pac-12), who would have been within a half-game of first-place Oregon in the Pac-12 with a victory.

Gerry Blakes added 14 for Arizona State (14-11, 4-8).

“This one was big for us and it’s a pivotal moment in our season,” Holder said. “We were going after it. We were hungry and we did what it takes to win.”

The Sun Devils have won two conference games in a row for the first time this season, holding USC 18 points below its average in conference play.

“I thought our defense was unbelievable throughout the entire game,” Arizona State Coach Bobby Hurley said. “The way we guarded the three-point line, and forced some turnovers, our activity was really good, and to hold them to 67 is a challenge because they can really score and they have a lot of talent out there on the court. `’

Arizona State took the lead with a 10-2 run to start the second half and never trailed again. Blakes and Holder made three-pointers in what turned out to be a decisive surge.

The Trojans cut the lead to 60-57 on Julian Jacobs’ dunk with 4:58 to play, but Arizona State responded with a 9-3 run, and when Holder banked in a three-pointer with 1:49 to play, the Sun Devils led, 69-60.

“We just didn’t play well,” Trojans Coach Andy Enfield said. “We played hard at times. We just didn’t play well enough. A 31-game schedule, you are going to have bumps in the road.”

Both teams had their struggles. USC committed 17 turnovers, seven by Jacobs.

“We gave them 12 extra possessions, five more turnovers and they had seven more offensive rebounds than us,” Enfield said, “so you give up 12 extra possessions to a team on their home court, you are going to lose.”

The Trojans controlled most of the first half, when they shot 58% to the Sun Devils’ 33% and took a 30-27 lead.

“Being down three after the way we played offense with our shooting percentages, our free-throw shooting percentages, our turnovers, and to have it a one-possession game,” Hurley said, “I knew, I told the guys we’re going to get this done because we’re going to play better offense in the second half.”

As the first-year coach predicted, the second half was a different story.

The difference in the game, Holder said, “was our activity level, our deflections, guys coming off the bench with big energy, getting down there, banging with those guys and making it hard for them. We just didn’t want them to be comfortable.”

USC Up Next

Sunday vs. No. 17 Arizona, 5 p.m., McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz. — USC’s last game against Arizona went into four overtimes. The Trojans won that one 103-100.