 led 79-77 late in overtime and had a chance to stretch it, but David Collette missed two free throws with 20.9 seconds left. Arizona State (15-5, 3-5) missed two shots on the next possession and Barefield hit 1 of 2 free throws. The Sun Devils' final shot, a running 3-pointer by Tra Holder at the buzzer, was nowhere close. Arizona State went up three on Shannon Evans' layup with 9 seconds in regulation, but opted not to foul and Barefield knocked down a 3-pointer to send it to overtime tied 69-all. Barefield made all four of his 3-point attempts and the Utes went 14 of 32 from the arc to avenge an earlier loss to the Sun Devils. Holder led Arizona State with 23 points. Arizona State won the first meeting on Jan. 7 in Salt Lake City, grinding out an 80-77 victory despite committing 31 fouls and its top three frontcourt players fouling out. The Sun Devils' issue in the first half of the rematch: Defense. After a good start , Arizona State repeatedly left shooters open on the perimeter and open lanes to the basket, allowing the Utes to build a 35-27 lead late in the half. Johnson had 13 points by halftime and Utah made 7 of its 15 attempts from the 3-point arc to lead 40-33. The Sun Devils tightened up defensively to open the second half, pulling within three after Utah missed eight of its first nine shots. The Utes continued to clank shots, but Arizona State had a hard time capitalizing as Utah pushed the lead back to eight. Martin brought the big-run Sun Devils back. He hit a pair of 3-pointers while scoring 10 straight points to put Arizona State up 57-55. Evans followed with a 3-pointer to make it a 13-0 run, but the Utes fought their way back. BIG PICTUREUtah was unable to close out its first game against Arizona State, but picked up a crucial win by making the plays down the stretch in the rematch. Arizona State is in danger of dropping out of the Top 25 after losing for the fifth time in eight games. UP NEXTUtah: At No. 11 Arizona Saturday. Arizona State: Hosts Colorado on Saturday.---More college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/-Top25)
Time: 9:30 PM EST TEMPE, Ariz. -- No. 21 Arizona State and Utah adjusted their starting lineups to great success last weekend. Their Pac-12 game Thursday in Tempe, Ariz. -- their second meeting in 19 days -- will provide the first clue as to whether those changes were more than just an experiment. In an attempt to bolster bench production after an 86-77 loss at Stanford a week ago, Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley flip-flopped forwards Mickey Mitchell and Vitaliy Shibel for the game at California, and the move helped everyone. Mitchell had 12 points and 11 rebounds off the bench, reserve guard Remy Martin had 13 points and reserve center De'Quon Lake had nine points and seven rebounds as the Sun Devils (15-4, 3-4 Pac-12) used 41 bench points in an 81-73 victory on Saturday. Mitchell, Martin and Shibel made two 3-pointers apiece. The 6-foot-7 Mitchell, who gained his eligibility at semester after transferring from Ohio State, had started the previous seven games in place of Shibel. Hurley told Mitchell about the lineup change Friday." I didn't think about it," Mitchell said. "I knew when I got in there I was going to do what I do. That's his decision, so I respected it. Obviously I came out and played, so it doesn't matter where I come from. This was a must-win for us after a tough loss at Stanford. We had to have this one. A lot of guys stepped up." Freshman Martin, who has provided a spark off the bench all season, had 11 of the 13 points scored by reserves at Stanford." Stanford punished us with their bench in that game, and that was a key reason why we didn't come through and maybe get a victory," Hurley said. "Just having Mickey come in and provide that spark and do what he did, our team needs that from him." The Sun Devils have won two of three games and three of five since opening Pac-12 play with losses at Arizona and Colorado. They broke that two-game losing streak with an 80-77 victory at Utah on Jan. 7. Guard Shannon Evans II had 22 points and five 3-pointers and guard Kodi Justice had 20 points in that game. For Utah, graduate transfer guard Justin Bibbins had 22 points and guard Sedrick Barefield had 21 and five 3s. Bibbins' potential go-ahead 3-pointer with eight seconds remaining rimmed out. The 5-8 Bibbins, who spent his first three seasons at 49ers">Long Beach State, had double-doubles when Utah (12-7, 4-4) swept the Washington schools last weekend to snap a four-game losing streak. He had 20 points and a career-high 10 rebounds against Washington on Thursday and 13 points and a career-high 12 assists against Washington State on Sunday. He leads the team with a 14.2-point scoring average. Barefield, who had started the seven previous Pac-12 games, scored 14 points off the bench in the 82-69 victory over Washington State on Sunday, when the Utes' bench had 38 points. Barefield, who averages 10.6 points a game, was 1 of 16 from the floor and 0 of 12 on 3-pointers in the three games between the contests against Arizona State and Washington State." That's the definition and essence of a team," Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak told reporters. "I like the change. Sedrick was really welcome to the idea. I think Justin's going to find his (points), and then when you have to go to the bench here comes Sedrick, and then you can run some different plays." It brings some enthusiasm, at least after the first time doing it it worked. We saw some defense out of him that we haven't seen, too." Utah athletic director Chris Hill was fined $10,000 by the Pac-12 for inappropriate language following the Arizona State-Utah game Jan. 7, when he berated Pac-12 coordinator of officials Bobby Dibler. Reporters at Krystkowiak's postgame press conference overheard the outburst, which took place in an adjoining room.
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