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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) -- Arizona State put an emphatic end to its
11-year losing streak to UCLA on Thursday night, routing the Bruins 104-75 behind Eddie House's conference-record, 40-point
performance.
UCLA had won 22 straight games in the Pac-10 series, including
83-77 earlier this season in Pauley Pavilion. Arizona State's last
victory at home was in February 1989.
|  | | UCLA's Dan Gadzuric, right, pulls down a rebound over Arizona State's Chad Prewitt. |
"At the beginning of the year we sat down and talked about
beating UCLA," House said. "They were doing some talking out in
L.A. about how I was going to need to score 61 to beat them, and I
just filed that."
House, who had 22 points in the first half, twice made three
free throws after being fouled on 3-point attempts. After the
second trio of foul shots, he had his fourth 40-point game of the
season, and the Sun Devils had a 96-70 lead with 2:55 to play.
House is the only Pac-10 player to score 40 points four times in
a season.
Lew Alcindor had six 40-point games in his career, but never
more than three in one season. House had tied Alcindor's record of
61 points on Jan. 6, against California.
House has two 30-point games this season to go with four during
his junior season.
He was 15-of-22 from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-point
range, and 7-of-8 at the free throw line.
The rout kept the Sun Devils (15-9, 7-5) in the hunt for an NCAA
tournament berth, but may have ended UCLA's chances. The Bruins
(13-10, 4-7) need to win their seven remaining games just to break
even in the conference.
"To achieve our goal of getting to the tournament, this was a
game we definitely needed to win," House said. "And we came out
focused. Not to take anything away from UCLA -- they played hard --
but I think we wanted it more."
Awvee Storey had 12 points and 13 rebounds for Arizona State,
and backup Tanner Shell scored 12 points in 16 minutes.
Freshman Jason Kapono led UCLA with 24 points. Earl Watson had
12 points on 5-for-6 shooting, but fouled out on a reach-in 5:52
into the second half.
"It was obvious they were on their 'A' game in terms of
sharpness and precision and execution and intensity and energy,"
UCLA coach Steve Lavin said. "Number one, they're in the hunt for
the NCAA tourney and two, the 22-game winning streak probably had
them playing at a kind of magic level."
Kapono made it 51-37 at halftime with a buzzer-beating
3-pointer. But the Bruins committed four fouls and missed their
first two shots, allowing Arizona State to start the second half
with a 9-4 run over the first 5:13.
House had 11 points during a four-minute stretch when the Sun
Devils extended a 9-6 lead to 25-12 with 11:59 remaining in the
first half.
Kapono, scoreless until then, hit two 3-pointers as the Bruins
got within 29-22. But Arizona State went on a 12-0 surge capped by
a 16-footer by House, who took a defensive rebound all the way into
the frontcourt.
"I knew they were going to try to make a run in the second
half," Sun Devils coach Rob Evans said. "They were fighting for
their lives out there. We kept the intensity up, though, and made
them work for everything."
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