With under 30 seconds remaining in overtime, the Ducks were one defensive stop away from their third straight win. But as ASU started to work the ball around the perimeter, a wide open Jay Heath knocked down a three pointer, giving the Sun Devils a two-point lead with 11 seconds to go.
The ASU bench erupted with excitement as the Ducks called a timeout.
With just over seconds to either win the game or force a second overtime, Will Richardson drove toward the middle and put up a mid range jumper. It was a good look, but the ball hit the back rim and ASU grabbed the board to secure the victory, 69-67.
“We got a good look,” Altman said. “Wish he would have knocked it down, but that was the look; we hoped to get him coming off that double screen.”
In their first in-conference game, the Ducks fell to Arizona State in overtime, suffering their first home loss this season and falling to 5-4 overall. It was a tight game throughout, but the Sun Devils came up big when they most needed to.
Arizona State came out firing at the start, taking an early 16-6 lead. In the opening 10 minutes the Sun Devils shot 64% from the field and 60% from 3.
With the Sun Devils heating up from the field, the Ducks came out cold, starting 0-5 from three.
Down 21-12, The Ducks responded to ASU’s hot start shooting with a 10-0 run in the tail end of the half, helping them get their first lead of the game, 22-21.
The Ducks driving the lane and getting to the line played a big part in turning the game around. Oregon dominated the paint the whole night, outscoring ASU 42-22.
The rest of the half was back and forth, each team getting small doses of momentum throughout as the Ducks went into halftime up 31-30.
While the half ended close, the Sun Devils put up much better shooting numbers, going 48% from the field and 57% from 3 (4-7) while the Ducks struggled, going 44% from the field and 33% from 3 (3-9).
The same shooting problems arose for the Ducks early in the second half, going 0-5 from 3 and 28% from the field in the first 9 minutes of the half. Fortunately, the Sun Devils were not faring well from the field either. The game remained tight the entire half, no team able to get a lead over four points.
As the lead flipped throughout the half, the Ducks found themselves with a 58-56 lead with 37 seconds left in the game. After ASU went 1-for-2 from the line, Franck Kepnang made two free throws as ASU was forced to foul.
Sitting at a 60-57 lead with the shot clock off, the Sun Devils desperately tried to find a shot with time winding down. After missing a shot from 3, ASU snagged the rebound before finding an open DJ Horne, who nailed a game-tying three-pointer with five seconds to go.
This sent the game to overtime as Horne ended the game with 23 points off 50% shooting, almost doubling his season average.
Horne and Heath were a problem all night for the Ducks as the duo recorded 37 combined points and shot 7-15 from 3.
“I was really disappointed in the way those two guys got their looks,” Altman said. “We knew those were the only two guys that were capable of beating us from 3. Heath goes 4-6 and Horne goes 3-9 so I thought we gave those guys way too many looks.”
In overtime, Kepnang dominated, scoring six of the teams seven points and drawing a huge charge with 54 seconds left. Kepnang finished as the Ducks leading scorer, with 17 points off 7-9 shooting.
After the Kepnang change, the Ducks failed to score as ASU’s ensuing possession would seal the game with Heath’s 3-pointer.
The Ducks will look to bounce back in Stanford next Sunday, Dec. 12.
