TEMPE, Ariz. _ Arizona State claimed one of the signature victories of the 2017-18 college basketball non-conference season by beating No. 2-ranked Kansas a year ago at Allen Fieldhouse.
The Sun Devils, ranked 18th this season compared to No. 16 a year ago when they won in Lawrence, one-upped the feat on Saturday, this time knocking off the top-ranked Jayhawks, 80-76, at Wells Fargo Arena.
Rob Edwards scored 15 points, Zylan Cheatham 13 and Luguentz Dort 13 before a packed house (14,198) that included former Chiefs coach Herm Edwards and Olympic swimming sensation Michael Phelps as well as former NBA players Jason Kidd and Grant Hill. Another face in the crowd was former KU guard Svi Mykhailiuk of the Los Angeles Lakers, who wore an LA Dodgers hat to the game. Ex-Jayhawk guard Tyler Self was also in the house.
The Sun Devil fans stormed the court after the victory, made possible by Arizona State overcoming a seven-point deficit in the final five minutes.
Dedric Lawson led KU with 30 points and 14 rebounds, while Lagerald Vick had 14 points, hitting just 3 of 11 3s. Devon Dotson had 12 points and five assists. KU had 16 turnovers to Arizona State's 11. KU was 7 of 28 on 3-pointers and hit 41.5 percent of its shots from the field overall.
KU led by as many as 12 points the first half (39-27 at 3:03) but led by just eight at the break (39-31).
Arizona State cut it to three at 43-40 and again 62-59 at 7:24. At that point, Cheatham had 13 points and 11 rebounds, taking advantage of a short spell in which Lawson was on the bench with his third foul.
Arizona State cut it to two 67-65 on a 3 by Edwards at 5:50.
With Arizona State up by three, Vick hit a huge 3 and was fouled by Dort on the play. Vick hit the free throw for a four-point play, and KU led 72-65 at 4:58.
KU led 74-67 at 4:31, but Arizona State cut it to 74-73 at 2:51. KU's Quentin Grimes missed a 3 with the score 74-71, and ASU's Remy Martin converted right after at 2:48. Following a Lawson turnover Edwards hit a 3 to give ASU a 76-74 lead at 2:17. Dort then missed two free throws at 1:36. Lawson hit two free throws to tie it 76-76 at 1:17.
Martin hit a shot in the lane with 58.6 seconds left to give ASU a 78-76 lead. Following an offensive foul by Vick, Dort missed two free throws with 26 seconds left, giving KU the ball down two, 78-76, with 22 seconds left.
Vick gunned a pass off Dotson that forced a turnover with 6.9 seconds left on KU's ensuing possession.
Edwards stepped to the line at 6.1 seconds. He hit two free throws to give ASU the four point lead, 80-76.
Lawson scored 18 points on 8 of 10 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds as KU (which had a half-high lead of 12 points) led 39-31 at halftime. Dotson was next in line with seven points and three assists in the first 20 minutes. KU hit 43.2 percent of its first-half shots but was just 4 of 14 from 3. ASU hit 29 percent and also was 4 of 14 from 3. Dort led the way for ASU with seven points.
KU came out firing 3s and led 6-0 on treys by Vick and Dotson under a minute into the game. The Jayhawks led 11-4 at 16:59 and 13-6 at 16:11. At that point, Lawson had five points to go with three from Vick and Dotson. KU was 2 for 4 from 3 at that point to ASU's 0-for-3 mark from beyond the arc.
KU led 18-9 at 14:17, Vick and Lawson leading the way with six and five points respectively.
ASU's Dort then hit a resounding dunk and a 3 and ASU trailed by just 22-20 at 9:55.
The score was 24-23 KU at 9:21 when KU's Lawson went on a scoring spree.
KU's Lawson scored six straight and eight overall in a 10-1 run that upped KU's narrow 24-23 lead to 34-24 at 5:52. Dotson also had a steal and ensuing layup in the surge. KU led 39-27 late in the half but by just eight at the break.
Lawson wound up with 13 points in a 15-4 run that opened a 39-27 lead at 3:03.
KU will next meet Eastern Michigan Saturday, Dec. 29, at Allen Fieldhouse.
