Associated Press Arizona junior forward Luke Walton attempts a jumper over Sun Devil forward Tommy Smith last night at ASU. Walton scored 26 points and grabbed 10 boards in the 88-72 loss.

Arizona falls behind in first half, is unable to mount comeback

Arizona walked into Tempe's Wells Fargo Arena last night ranked No. 10 in the nation after back-to-back wins over top-20 Pac-10 foes, favored to beat Arizona State for the 13th straight time. ASU came in unranked and unheralded. But somebody forgot to tell the Sun Devils.

ASU took an early lead and held off the Wildcats for an 88-72 victory, slamming the door on Arizona's five-game win streak and 12-game mastery of the Sun Devils.

"There is not much to say except they beat us every way," UA head coach Lute Olson said. "They were attacking better than we were. We broke down in a lot of different ways. Arizona State outplayed us in every facet of the game. You can't expect miracles. You have to make things happen."

Arizona (13-5, 6-3) drew first blood with two free throws by freshman Salim Stoudamire - his 36th and 37th consecutive free throws made - but ASU (11-7, 4-5) responded and soon took control of the game.

Freshman center Channing Frye was called for an intentional foul following a Jason Gardner 3-pointer with 13:39 left in the first half with the score 13-10.

ASU senior forward Chad Prewitt hit both free throws as the Sun Devils went on a 10-0 run to take a seven-point lead, but Arizona responded with a 10-point burst to tie the game at 20.

KEVIN KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat UA head coach Lute Olson argues a call during last night's loss to ASU in Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe.

That would be as close as Arizona would get, as Prewitt quickly responded with two 3-pointers and added another jumper as ASU boosted its lead back to 10 with 6:06 left in the first half.

Junior guard Curtis Millage did his part with a 3-pointer to give ASU a 17-point lead. Both Prewitt and Millage scored 12 in the first half.

Olson said ASU's guard play, specifically Millage's, was the difference in the game.

"(Millage) was the guy that made things happen," Olson said "We got totally destroyed at the guard position."

Arizona's nine first-half turnovers helped the Sun Devils secure a 46-31 lead going into the locker room.

ASU head coach Rob Evans said he was pleased with the fire his team showed to start off the game.

"We came out with a purpose," Evans said. "I was proud of the guys' effort, concentration, execution and maturity."

Things would not get much better for Arizona, as Prewitt started out the second half with two layups to give ASU a 19-point lead one minute into the period.

Junior forward Luke Walton scored eight of Arizona's first 10 points to start off the second half, but ASU had an answer for every Wildcat basket. Walton had his third consecutive strong showing with 26 points 10 rebounds, but also committed seven turnovers.

"Luke gave a tremendous effort," Olson said. "We didn't have enough support."

Millage put ASU up 20 with 14:37 left to play with a 3-pointer, but Arizona was not about to lie down.

The Wildcats chipped away at the lead and pulled to within 13 on a layup by freshman Isaiah Fox with just under 11 minutes to play.

The teams traded buckets until Awvee Storey sparked a 6-0 ASU run to push the lead back to 17 with 7:10 remaining.

UA's last-ditch attempt at full-court pressure was unable to rattle ASU.

With 4:44 left in the game, Prewitt stepped through a UA double team on his way to a layup to put ASU up 14.

Frye fouled out with 3:50 remaining, much to the pleasure of his former hometown crowd. The Phoenix native finished with six points and four rebounds.

Prewitt hit both free throws to give ASU a 14-point lead.

Freshman guard Will Bynum scored on a baseline drive to cut the lead to 11 with 2:48 remaining, but it was too little too late, as the Sun Devils held off the Wildcats for the 16-point victory. The win was their first over the Wildcats in more than six years.