NCAA News Wire
Texas 87, Arizona State 85
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
MILWAUKEE — Texas center Cameron Ridley tapped in a missed 3-point attempt by forward Jonathan Holmes as time expired, giving the seventh-seeded Longhorns an 87-85 victory over 10th-seeded Arizona State on Thursday night in an NCAA West Regional second-round game at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.
Ridley’s basket bailed out seventh-seeded Texas, which saw a 14-point lead disappear in the final 12 minutes.
The Longhorns led 61-47 after two free throws by Holmes, but Arizona State rallied and tied the score at 80 on guard Jermaine Marshall’s 3-pointer with 3:18 left.
Ridley finished with a team-high 17 points and 12 rebounds and guard Demarcus Holland added 14 points.
Holmes and guards Isaiah Taylor and Javan Felix each scored 12 points for Texas, which faces No. 2 seed Michigan in the third round on Saturday.
Center Jordan Bachynski led Arizona State with 25 points. Guard Jahii Carson scored 18 points, Marshall had 17 and forward Jonathan Gilling hit four 3-pointers and finished with 15 points.
The lead changed hands six times in the first half. Texas was up by as many as nine after guard Martez Walker sank a 3-pointer with 10:14 left. But the Sun Devils came right back and used an 8-0 run to get within two on forward Shaquielle McKissic’s layup with 5:07 left.
Arizona State trailed 41-36 at the break.
NOTES: Texas is back in the NCAA Tournament after failing to land a berth in 2013, snapping a streak of 14 consecutive appearances under coach Rick Barnes. … Thursday marked the fifth meeting between the teams but the first since 1999, when they faced off during a holiday tournament in Puerto Rico. The Longhorns came into the game with a 3-1 lead in the all-time series. … The Sun Devils secured their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2009 were making just their fifth appearance since 1981.
