Hawkeyes Fall In Closing Seconds At Arizona State

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Christian Polk’s 35-footer at the shot-clock buzzer with 12.7 seconds to play gave Arizona State a wild 67-64 come-from-behind victory over Iowa on Saturday night.

Arizona State outscored Iowa 19-4 over the final six minutes.

Polk, one of three freshmen who started for first-year coach Herb Sendek, found himself under tight defense from the basket when he let loose the game-winning shot.

Iowa’s Tony Freeman missed a 3-pointer just before the finish. A turnover gave Iowa one last shot with less than a second to play, but Brett Wessel’s desperation attempt was far off the mark.

Polk scored 20, including 4-of-5 3-pointers, two of them in the final two minutes. Serge Angounou added 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Sun Devils (3-2).

Adam Haluska scored 24 for the Hawkeyes (2-3), who lost their third in a row. Tyler Smith added 10 points.

Down 60-48, the Sun Devils scored 13 consecutive points to go up 61-60 on Polk’s 3-pointer from the corner with two minutes to play.

Cyrus Tate scored inside and was fouled by Jeff Pendergraph but missed the free throw and Iowa led 62-61. Angounou’s 3-pointer put Arizona State ahead 64-62, then Smith’s tip-in tied it at 64 with 48 seconds to play.

The Sun Devils shot 10-for-16 from 3-point range. They started three freshmen for the first time since the 1999-2000 season.

The Hawkeyes used a 10-0 run at the end of the first half and start of the second to go up 35-25, but Arizona State responded with a 12-3 spurt to cut it to 38-37 on Jerren Shipp’s 3-pointer with 14:29 to play.

Tyler Smith scored on a left-handed drive, then Haluska sank a 3-pointer and Iowa boosted its lead to 43-37. Seth Gorney’s inside basket capped a 9-2 run that gave the Hawkeyes their biggest lead, 60-48, six minutes from the finish.

The Sun Devils scored the first 13 points of the game.

But the Hawkeyes outscored Arizona State 31-12 the rest of the half to lead 31-25.