Arizona State guard Desmond Cambridge Jr. drilled a desperation heave at the final buzzer to lift Arizona State to a stunning 89-88 victory over No. 7 Arizona on Saturday. The bucket came after the Sun Devils inbounded the ball with 2.9 seconds left trailing 88-86. Cambridge caught the pass, dribbled just once and unleashed the shot from a few steps behind the half-court line.
Arizona guard Pelle Larsson had a hand in Cambridge's face as he released the shot, but it hit nothing but net to cap a wild rivalry game that featured 18 lead changes and 11 ties. Cambridge finished with 21 points to lead the Sun Devils (20-9, 11-7 Pac-12), who entered the game on the bubble as one of the "Next Four Out" in Jerry Palm's Bracketology and desperately needed a statement victory to keep their hopes for an at-large hopes NCAA Tournament bid alive.
The Wildcats (24-5, 13-5) appeared to be in great shape when Oumar Ballo pulled down a rebound with 2.9 seconds left and was fouled. But when he missed the first foul shot, it left the door open for an ASU miracle. With the win, the in-state foes split their regular-season series.
DOWN GOES NO. 7 ARIZONA‼️@SunDevilHoops WINS IT AT THE BUZZER 😱😱 pic.twitter.com/qJus7icYDO
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) February 25, 2023
The loss all but eliminates Arizona from contention for the Pac-12 title. If UCLA wins any of its final three regular season games, the Bruins will be the solo conference champions.
