TEMPE, Ariz. — Kyle Fogg has struggled shooting consistently all season, so last week to prepare for ASU he took extra shooting sessions at night to help get back on track.
On Sunday night, it paid off.
Fogg led the No. 15 Arizona (21-4, 10-2 Pacific 10 Conference) with a career high 26 points, shooting 6-for-9 from beyond the arc giving the Wildcats their first sweep against the Sun Devils (9-15, 1-11 Pac-10) since 2007-08 season in a 67-52 win against their rival.
In a game when the Wildcats star forward Derrick Williams was affected by ASU’s zone defense, the junior guard couldn’t miss.
“”It felt great,”” Fogg said. “”It felt that every shot that I put up was going to go in, I was in the gym all week and I felt good out there today.””
Fogg’s teammates noticed the extra work that the junior guard put in.
“”We had a whole week off and he came in got extra shots up,”” forward Jesse Perry added. “”And it showed tonight.””
Fogg stood out on a poor shooting night – Arizona shot just 40 percent and ASU shot 37 percent – and took advantage of the attention that was being paid to Williams by making the Sun Devils pay from outside.
“”I had to look for my teammates tonight,”” Williams said after the game. “”Luckily Fogg hit a lot of great shots tonight.””
His coach was thrilled to see someone have a big night other than Williams, which has been the case most of the season.
“”I give Kyle Fogg a lot of credit,”” Miller said. “”He’s done everything that I’ve asked of him, it was great to see him have a great night from three because he worked hard to make that happen.
“”Derrick Williams always deserves credit,”” he added. “”Part of the credit he deserves is when teams try to collapse on him sometimes its presence alone can create shots for his teammates and its up to them to make them and Kyle took advantage of those.””
The Wildcats extended their winning streak to six games, the longest in the Sean Miller era, and appear to be rolling in the way Miller envisioned come February.
The Sun Devils cut into the Wildcat lead on several occasions in the second half, but they we’re unable to sustain enough offense to give the Wildcats a real threat.
Each time it seemed ASU would pull within single digits the Wildcats would answer with a score of their own.
Arizona led 34-24 at halftime and wasted no time extending the lead as Jesse Perry knocked down a three pointer to make it 37-49. Perry scored all if his 10 points in the second half.
Fogg led the Wildcats with 13 first half point, while the Wildcats forward Derrick Williams became a passer due to the suffocating zone defense, scoring only five points on three field goal attempts.
With the win, Arizona maintained its lead over UCLA for first place in the Pac-10.
“”We wanted to get the win tonight to stay in first place and let everybody chase us,”” Williams said.
