TEMPE, Ariz. — Ty Abbott scored 19 points and Rihards Kuksiks had 12 as Arizona State rallied to defeat Oregon 61-51 on Saturday and keep pace in the Pac-10 race.
Abbott hit 5 of 13 shots from beyond the arc to spark the Sun Devils (18-8, 8-5 Pac-10), who trailed by nine points late in the first half. Arizona State remained a game behind California, which beat Washington State earlier in the afternoon.
The Sun Devils broke open a close game with a 12-0 run midway through the second half. Abbott connected three times from beyond the arc during that stretch.
Malcolm Armstead scored 16 points and Matt Humphrey had 11 for Oregon (12-12, 4-8), which has dropped eight of 10 games after a 2-0 start in Pac-10 play.
The Ducks came to the desert looking to avenge a 76-57 rout by the Sun Devils in Eugene, Ore. on Jan. 14. The rematch was vintage Pac-10 basketball, with plenty of turnovers and missed shots and a halftime score of 26-all.
The Sun Devils had nine turnovers — and two field goals — in the first nine minutes.
ASU scored the game’s first six points before the Ducks went on a 12-0 run in which four different players scored.
Oregon stretched its lead to 24-15 with 4:18 to go in the first half. But the Sun Devils tied it at 26-26 on an 11-2 run capped by Kuksiks’ 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer.
ASU’s defense, which ranks third in the league, took over in the second half. The Sun Devils gave up a pair of 3-pointers to Humphrey, then held the Ducks scoreless for 6½ minutes.
The Sun Devils took command with a 12-0 run that began with a 3-pointer by Derek Glasser and ended with a 3-pointer by Abbott.
ASU led by 15 with 7:27 to play, but the Ducks went on a 9-0 run to pull within 53-47 with 3:05 remaining.
That’s when Abbott scored from just inside the arc. A minute later, Glasser hit a 3-pointer to give the Sun Devils a 58-49 lead with 65 seconds remaining.
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