TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) - Azuolas Tubelis scored 21 points, Oumar Ballo had 12 points and 12 rebounds, and No. 5 Arizona withstood a second-half comeback by Arizona State for a 69-60 victory Saturday. It was the ninth 20-point game for Tubelis this season and Ballo's Pac-12 leading sixth double-double of the season.

Kerr Kriisa had 12 points and five assists for the Wildcats (13-1, 2-1 Pac-12), who won their fifth straight in the series. They entered averaging 90.2 points per game, second in Division I.

The Sun Devils (11-3, 2-1) scored 19 of the first 23 points of the second half after going to a full-court press and cut the deficit to 49-47 with 13 minutes left. Arizona responded with a 10-3 run to regain control.

Frankie Collins had 12 points to lead Arizona State and Devan Cambridge added nine.

The Wildcats made 24 of 28 free-throws attempts. Arizona State was 7 of 10. The Sun Devils missed their first 13 3-point field-goal attempts and were 3 of 27 from behind the arc. Neither team shot 40% from the field.

Tubelis has scored in double figures in all 14 games.

Ballo's foul-line jumper, his first basket of the game, gave Arizona a 30-14 lead with 6:19 remaining in the first half, forcing an Arizona State timeout. 

The Wildcats led by as many as 18 points in the first half.

Arizona finshed the 2022 calendar year with a 35-4 record against Division I opponents, the best record in the country.

BIG PICTURE

Arizona looked every bit a top-five team in the first half, but the Wildcats had surprising difficulty against Arizona State's full-court press in the second half. The Sun Devils could have found their way back into the AP Top 25 with a win. Regardless, they will remain a contender in the Pac-12 because of a harassing defense that had limited opponents to 36.7% shooting from the floor coming in.

UP NEXT

Arizona: The Wildcats begin Pac-12 play in earnest with a home series against Washington and Washington State on Thursday-Saturday.

Arizona State: The Sun Devils also play host to the Washington schools next weekend.

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