TEMPE, Ariz. — Kyle Fogg scored 21 points, Derrick Williams added 20 and Arizona rallied from an early 10-point deficit to rout Arizona State 77-58 on Saturday night, snapping a five-game skid against its in-state rival.
Nic Wise scored 16 points for the Wildcats (10-9, 4-3 Pac-10).
Rihards Kuksiks scored 15 points for the Sun Devils (14-6, 4-3), who had their four-game winning streak snapped.
After struggling early on against Arizona State’s zone, Arizona began pounding the ball inside and scoring almost at will. The Wildcats broke open a tight game with a 13-0 run early in the second half and shot 75 percent (18 of 24) from the floor in the second half.
By the end of the rout, much of the Wells Fargo Arena crowd had bolted for the exits as a throng of red-and-blue-clad Arizona fans chanted in the upper deck.
It was an ugly, disjointed game that underscored the general ineptitude of the Pac-10, which has tumbled from the national elite. But the Wildcats will take it.
Five minutes into the second half, Arizona had as many turnovers (eight) as field goals — and led by a bucket.
ASU didn’t score a field goal in the final 7:50 of the first half but still led by two at halftime because Arizona was 5 for 21 from the floor.
Early on, it looked as if the Sun Devils would waltz to their sixth straight win in the series — their longest streak since they won nine straight from 1979-83.
The inexperienced Wildcats struggled against ASU’s matchup zone defense. Arizona made only three of its first 12 shots as the Sun Devils jumped out to a 15-8 lead midway through the first half.
Arizona State stretched its lead to 20-10 before Arizona awoke and went on a 9-0 run.
The Wildcats took control with a 13-0 run early in the second half. At one point in the run, Arizona State’s Derek Glasser and Ty Abbott botched an alley-oop, and the Wildcats turned it into a layup at the other end to take 38-29 lead.
Emotions boiled over midway through the second half, when Arizona’s Kevin Parrom raked Abbott across the face as Abbott tried to dunk. Abbott went nose-to-nose with Parrom under the basket before teammates and officials separated them.
Both coaches came onto the floor to pull players from the scrum, and the officials sent both teams to their benches.
Parrom was assessed an intentional foul.
The dustup only seemed to inspire the Wildcats, who went on a 9-2 run and stretched their lead to 56-39.
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