TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Henri Veesaar scored 22 points, Caleb Love added 21 and No. 24 Arizona pulled away for a 113-100 win over rival Arizona State on Tuesday night.
The Wildcats (20-10, 14-5 Big 12) won the first meeting this season in a game that got so testy at the end Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley pulled his players off the floor before the handshake line.
The rematch had far less animosity, and the scrappy Sun Devils (13-17, 4-15) managed to keep it close late despite being down to five scholarship players after starting guard Adam Miller was injured in the first 28 seconds.
Arizona wore down the Sun Devils, shooting 59% with a 52-30 advantage in the paint to earn a bye into the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament. KJ Lewis added 21 points.
Alston Mason led Arizona State with 33 points.
Arizona had a hard time shaking the Sun Devils until Basheer Jihad (15 points) and Shawn Phillips (14) fouled out in the final 5:12, leaving Arizona State with four scholarship players. The Wildcats pulled away after Arizona State had cut the lead to three.
Takeaways
Arizona State: The Sun Devils shot 12 of 23 from 3-point range, but wore down against Arizona's depth.
Arizona: The Wildcats earned a season sweep of their rivals to help Tommy Lloyd become the first Arizona coach to win at least 20 games in each of his first four seasons.
Key moment
Arizona State pulled within three with six minutes left, but Arizona went on an 8-0 run to stretch the lead to 97-86.
Key stat
Arizona had 25 second-chance points on 12 offensive rebounds.
Up next
Arizona State closes the regular season by hosting Texas Tech, and Arizona plays at Kansas on Saturday.
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