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Arizona State 66, Temple 57

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The Associated Press

The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 21, 2009

Updated: 03/21/2009 12:45 am

MIAMI - On the eve of Arizona State's first NCAA Tournament game since 2003, James Harden had teammates laughing when he teased point guard Derek Glasser about being reluctant to shoot.

So when Harden had trouble getting going Friday against Temple, guess who came to the rescue?

Glasser scored a career-high 22 points, and the sixth-seeded Sun Devils overcame a second consecutive subpar performance by Harden.

"It was one of those games where my shot wasn't falling," said Harden, the Pac-10 player of the year. "My teammates picked it up, definitely - Derek throughout the entire game."

Harden scored nine points, less than half his average. And while he made only one shot, it was a big one: a 3-pointer with 4:02 left that helped to squelch a Temple comeback.

Glasser, a junior, went 4-for-5 from behind the arc as Arizona State (25-9) reached the 25-win milestone for the first time since 1975.

No. 11 seed Temple (22-12) was eliminated in the opening round for the second year in a row and hasn't won a tournament game since 2001. Dionte Christmas scored 29 in his final game for the Owls.

Temple never led and trailed by eight midway through the second half before making a charge. Christmas scored three consecutive baskets to cut the margin to 52-49, but the Owls could get no closer.

The Associated Press

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