J.P. Moorman II made a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from about 60 feet, well beyond half court, to give UC Riverside a 66-65 win over Arizona State on Thursday night in Tempe, Ariz.
Moorman, a transfer from Temple, took the inbound pass with 1.7 seconds left, turned and threw up the shot uncontested. It was a swish at the buzzer.
Luther Muhammad’s one-handed running shot in the lane put Arizona State ahead 65-63 moments earlier. The shot was the first made from the field by Arizona State since 5:52 remained, when Kimani Lawrence dunked.
After Muhammad was whistled for an offensive foul with 37.5 seconds left, UC Riverside’s Wil Tattersall missed a 3-point attempt.
The Sun Devils called a timeout with 14.3 seconds left to set up a play and Muhammad, an Ohio State transfer, made his shot.
The referee blew the whistle although UC Riverside inbounded the ball. That allowed the Highlanders (1-1) to inbound the ball again, leading up to Moorman’s winning shot.
Moorman finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
UC Riverside’s Flynn Cameron tallied 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, including 6-of-8 from 3-point range. Zyon Pullin finished with 10 points for the visitors.
Lawrence had 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field and grabbed 12 rebounds for Arizona State (1-1). Marcus Bagley finished with 18 points behind 3-of-4 shooting from 3-point range.
UC Riverside led 34-32 at halftime behind Cameron and Moorman combining for 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting from the field while the rest of the team was 5 of 21.
The Highlanders were 10 of 20 from 3-point range in the first half behind Cameron’s 4-of-5 performance. In their opener, the Highlanders were 6 of 22 from long distance in a loss to San Diego State.
The Sun Devils went on an 8-2 run to grab a 48-43 lead, their largest of the game at that point, with 12:27 remaining.
A jumper by Pullin and a 3-pointer by Moorman on the following possession with 2:26 left put UC Riverside ahead 62-61.