TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) – Jeff Pendergraph scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, his second double-double of the season, to lead Arizona State past Montana State 66-62 Tuesday night in a non-conference game.
Pendergraph grabbed a rebound off a missed free throw and later scored to give Arizona State the lead for good, 62-61, with 2:26 remaining.
Montana State, which made 14-of-24 from beyond the 3-point line, missed a pair of long shots in the final 1:27, in the loss.
James Harden scored 17 points and added seven assists for Arizona State (8-2).
Bobby Howard scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds off the bench for Montana State (5-5).
Neither team led by more than six in the second half and the Sun Devils had a 57-52 advantage before Carlos Taylor hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Montana State a 58-57 lead with 4:11 left. Taylor and Casey Durham each had 15 points for the Bobcats.
Durham hit another three with 3:36 remaining to give the Bobcats a four-point lead but Montana State turned the ball over on its next two possessions. Arizona State scored 26 points off 21 Montana State turnovers.
The Sun Devils, coming off a 22-point win over then-No. 17 Xavier, ran off 10 straight points to erase Montana State’s 26-17 advantage with 6:20 left in the first half. The Bobcats, a 38 percent 3-point shooting team, made six of their first 10 3-point attempts, including 3-of-4 by Durham.
Jerren Shipp added a season-high 17 points for Arizona State.
Durham made 5-of-8 from the field, all from outside the line, while Taylor made 4-of-5 from outside the arc in the second half.