BJ Freeman helps Arizona State hold off Santa Clara

BJ Freeman had 17 points, including a game-sealing 3-pointer in the final minute, to lead Arizona State to an 81-74 win over Santa Clara on Friday night at the Las Vegas Hoopfest in Henderson, Nev.

Adam Miller added 16 and Amier Ali chipped in 13 for the Sun Devils (2-0), who were 15-of-37 from beyond the arc. ASU was 7-of-24 from 3 in its season-opening win over Idaho State.

Santa Clara (1-1) got 17 points each from Adama Bal and Carlos Stewart Jr. Elijah Mahi scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half.

It was the first meeting between the schools since Santa Clara coach Herb Sendek was fired by ASU in 2015.

ASU led 36-34 at the break, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Stewart put Santa Clara up 42-40 with 17:37 left. Consecutive triples by Freeman gave the Sun Devils back the edge at 46-45 with 15:31 to go.

A 3-pointer by Ali gave ASU a 61-56 lead with 7:30 remaining, and the edge extended to 66-59 with 6:18 left on another Ali triple. Christoph Tilly converted a three-point play and Bal added a 3 to get Santa Clara within 68-67 with 4:10 to go.

Two free throws by Camaron Tongue gave the Broncos back the lead at 69-68 with 3:34 left, but Freeman hit a layup to put ASU back in front for good. A 3 by Alton Mason increased the lead to 75-69 with 1:28 remaining and Freeman nailed his triple with 48 seconds to go to ice it.

A 3 by Joson Sanon helped ASU build a 23-12 lead with 8:12 left in the first half, but Santa Clara followed with seven in a row. Two Tongue free throws put the Broncos up 27-26 with 3:24 remaining before halftime.

ASU stays on the road to face No. 6 Gonzaga on Sunday, while Santa Clara hosts North Dakota State on Wednesday.

--Field Level Media