Men's Basketball | Cougs' defense won't rest

TEMPE, Ariz. — Washington State prides itself on defense.

The sixth-ranked Cougars were never prouder than Saturday, when they came up with two big stops in the final minute to pull out a 56-55 victory over No. 24 Arizona State.

Derrick Low scored 18 points, all on three-pointers, as Washington State overcame an early 11-point deficit for a hard-earned split on its trip to the desert.

"We made just enough plays and made just enough stops to win," Washington State coach Tony Bennett said. "I'd be sick if we would've lost it. I'm sure Arizona State's feeling sick about it."

The Cougars (17-2 overall, 5-2 Pac-10) survived the upset bid when Arizona State's star freshman James Harden came up short on a drive to the basket at the buzzer. Harden finished with 25 points, his 10th 20-point game.

Then the Cougars survived an angry Wells Fargo Arena crowd. Bennett said his assistant coaches told him that "a couple" Washington State players were hit by debris thrown from the stands as they left the floor. Bennett did not identify the players.

"A couple of our kids did get peppered in the head by water bottles coming off the court," Bennett said.

Arizona State athletic director Lisa Love said she would review video.

"We certainly don't want things to come out of the stands and we don't want to put anybody at risk," Love said.

Low bounced back nicely after going 2 of 9 from the field in a loss at Arizona two nights earlier. He finished 6 of 11 on Saturday, all from behind the arc.

It was the second year in a row that the Cougars escaped Tempe with a one-point victory.

Both teams seemed to have an extra measure of desperation this time.

The Sun Devils (14-5, 4-3) had dropped two in a row, including a deflating 72-61 home loss to Washington on Thursday night. Washington State was coming off a 76-64 loss at Arizona two nights earlier.

"Any time you can get a win on the road, you know it's big-time in this league, so we'll take it," Weaver said.

Taylor Rochestie added 13 points for the Cougars, who launched an 18-0 run late in the first half and into the second.

Washington State's lead grew to 43-32 midway through the second half. And the Cougars seemed to be in command with a 56-48 lead with 2:50 to play.

But the Sun Devils went on a 7-0 run capped by Harden's driving layup with 1:09 left.

Neither team scored again. Washington State stoned Harden twice in the final 42 seconds.