TEMPE, Ariz. — Chanse Creekmur hit six 3-point shots and notched a career-best 24 points, helping Arizona State overcome a sloppy first half to beat Oregon State 76-66 Saturday night.
Arizona State (6-11, 2-3) had lost six of seven and appeared to be heading toward another disappointment after turning it over 13 times in the first half.
The Sun Devils shot their way out of trouble, hitting 59 percent from the floor to win for just the third time in 10 home games.
Kyle Cain added 16 points to help Arizona State overcome the loss of leading scorer Trent Lockett, who left with a right leg injury in the second half.
Oregon State (11-7, 1-5) started slowly and never recovered. The nation’s fifth-best scoring team shot 37 percent and hit 4 of 21 from 3-point range to lose for the fifth time in six games. Devon Collier led the Beavers with 21 points.
The Sun Devils struggled to start the season and it hasn’t gotten much better as the losses have piled up amid a slew of turnovers and malcontent.
Coach Herb Sendek suspended Keala King, Cain and reserve guard Chris Colvin for last week’s games in Southern California, then dismissed King from the team on Sunday.
On the court, Arizona State is one of the nation’s worst teams regarding turnovers (329th out of 334 teams), forcing 10.8 while committing 16.5 per game. The Sun Devils cost themselves a win against Oregon on Thursday, losing 67-58 despite shooting 51 percent thanks to 16 turnovers that led to 21 points for the Ducks.
Against Oregon State, Arizona State opened with a turnover on a backcourt violation. The Sun Devils kept giving the ball away, struggling with Oregon State’s 1-3-1 zone, particularly when the Beavers extended it to halfcourt.
Arizona State had 13 turnovers in the first half that led to 14 points for Oregon State, offsetting its 14 for 25 shooting.
The Sun Devils took better care of the ball in the second half and kept knocking down shots, including three 3-pointers in the first 3 minutes and using a 12-2 run to go up 50-41.
Creekmur and Jonathan Gilling ensured Oregon State didn’t mount a run, each nailing 3-pointers to push Arizona State’s lead to 61-51 with just under 7 minutes left.
Creekmur finished 6 for 7 from 3-point range and the Sun Devils were 9 for 17 overall.
The Beavers have gone through a rough stretch after a solid nonconference season.
Oregon State opened the Pac-12 with losses to the two Washington schools and was coming off what may have been its two toughest games of the season, consecutive losses to Stanford and Arizona that included five combined overtimes.
Oregon State managed to fight its way back in the closing minutes against Arizona on Thursday behind Ahmad Starks’ 10 points in the final 3:16, but missed all of its field goal attempts in overtime to lose 81-73.
The Beavers struggled early against the Wildcats and did it again against Arizona State, missing 11 of their first 14 shots, including their first five from 3-point range.
Unlike the Arizona game, the Beavers didn’t turn the shooting around in the second half.
Oregon State missed 11 of its first 14 shots to fall into a nine-point hole and couldn’t shoot their way back, unable to get closer than seven the rest of the way.
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