It’s One Foul Day for Arizona State

After Arizona State lost to No. 3-ranked Stanford, 73-63, on Saturday, Sun Devil Coach Rob Evans probably wasn’t sure that the Pacific 10 Conference game had been played at Tempe, Ariz.

Stanford, 18-3 and 8-1 in the Pacific 10, attempted 32 more free throws than Arizona State (12-9, 4-5), making 31 of 43 attempts to overcome 35% shooting from the field. The Sun Devils attempted only 11 free throws, making six, and were called for 29 fouls, compared to 13 for the Cardinal.

“I haven’t seen it in a long time, and I can tell you, it upsets me,” said Evans of the foul and free-throw discrepancies. “We can’t defend free throws. That’s the problem.”

Stanford’s Peter Sauer, who had 13 points and 10 rebounds, said the difference was the result of his team’s trademark aggressiveness.

“We’re going to play aggressive. We’re going to play strong,” said Sauer. “We have a big lineup. We’re just going to go for rebounds and throw the ball into the post. Once we forced the issue, there wasn’t much they could do but foul.”

Arizona State led 56-50 with 10:42 to play but didn’t score for the next eight minutes 22 seconds, committing five consecutive turnovers. That allowed Stanford to take a 66-56 lead with 2:11 left.

Eddie House had 25 points and Mike Batiste 21 for Arizona State, but Bobby Lazor had only six--his second fewest for the Sun Devils. He also had six turnovers.

Kris Weems and Arthur Lee had 12 points apiece for Stanford, which has a one-game lead at the halfway point of the Pacific 10 race.

“I think we’re in the driver’s seat, said Sauer. “It’s going to be our conference to win or lose.”

No. 13 Arizona 91, California 74--Jason Terry scored 26 points at Tucson for the Wildcats (15-3, 7-2), whose previous six games had been decided by a total of 10 points.

Terry, who made the game-winning shot in a 78-76 victory over Stanford on Thursday, scored 15 points in the first half as Arizona took a 51-33 lead and coasted to its 26th consecutive home victory.

A.J. Bramlett had 16 points as another of Arizona’s five double-figure scorers. Geno Carlisle had 17 points for California (12-7, 3-6).

Oregon State 48, Oregon 45--The Beavers (11-7, 5-4) defeated the Ducks (10-8, 2-7) for the first time in 11 games and improved their home-court record to 10-0 at Corvallis, Ore.

The point total was Oregon’s lowest since a 78-39 loss to open the 1991-92 season. The Ducks have lost seven of their last eight games, with all but one coming in overtime or by four points or less.

Oregon State had 10 blocked shots, with Clifton Jones getting six.