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Harden leads Arizona State past San Diego State
San Diego, CA (Sports Network) - James Harden scored 18 and hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 4 1/2 minutes remaining to boost 15th-ranked Arizona State to a 59-52 win over San Diego State.
Ty Abbott added 13 points and eight rebounds for the Sun Devils (2-0), who were coming off an 80-64 win over Mississippi Valley State. Rihards Kuksiks tallied 10 points in the win as Arizona State shot 57 percent from the field. That included a 9-of-13 clip in the second half.
"This was anything but a fluid basketball game," said Arizona State coach Herb Sendek.
"Our team played ugly, but found a way to win. It was a real gut check. We have a lot of room for improvement; we have to get so much better." Kyle Spain scored 17 and Billy White added 12 for the Aztecs (1-1), who beat UC-San Diego in their season-opener on Saturday.
"Anytime you play a team that is ranked 15th in the nation, everyone is going to be emotionally excited; especially when it's at our house," said Spain. "I thought we played fairly well up until four or five minutes were left in the game.
ASU just hit big shots and we didn't capitalize on our opportunities when we missed a lot of free throws and layups." Kuksiks tied the game at 44 with a three-pointer with nearly six minutes left. Spain then missed a three-pointer, and Harden drilled a long distance shot from the right wing. Harden then came up with a steal before Kuksiks drilled a three from the left corner with 3:21 remaining.
San Diego State didn't get closer than four points the rest of the way.
The Aztecs raced to a 15-2 lead with Spain nailing a three-pointer to cap the flurry.
The Sun Devils came right back, tying the game at 19 on an Abbott layup, and it was 24-23 in favor of the home team at the half.
San Diego State opened an eight-point lead early in the second half before faltering.
Game Notes The Aztecs went 35.3 percent from the field...Arizona State leads the all-time series, 15-10.
11/19 03:11:01 ET