(San Francisco, CA) Sun Devil Men’s Basketball’s Desmond Cambridge Jr. was named Pac-12 Player of the Week, the conference announced as part of their weekly performance awards.
Cambridge Jr. hit the game-winning shot from beyond half court that resulted in a dramatic 89-88 victory for Arizona State over No. 7 Arizona on Saturday. He stunned a sold-out McKale Center crowd with one of the greatest shots in program history, forever cementing his name into Sun Devil lore.
The Nashville native took over late in the game, scoring nine of his 19 points – on a trio of threes – inside the final five minutes to help erase a 80-72 deficit. It is the eighth conference Player of the Week honor in his illustrious career (Ivy 4x, Pac-12 3x, Mountain West 1x).
He is the first Sun Devil to win Pac-12 Player of the Week three times in the same season since Carrick Felix also earned three weekly honors during the 2012-13 season. Dating back to when the award was first given out in 1984, Cambridge Jr. is only the fourth Sun Devil to be named Pac-12 Player of the Week three times in a season. He is now tied for third in program history with three career Pac-12 weekly conference honors despite spending only one season in Tempe, trailing only Eddie House (5) and Ike Diogu (4).
Cambridge Jr. is the only player in the conference to be named Pac-12 Player of the Week on three occasions, breaking a tie with three other individuals. Arizona State now has a total of four Pac-12 Player of the Week recipients so far this season, with Austin Nunez earning Freshman of the Week honors back in November. It is the 14th time a Sun Devil has won a Pac-12 Player of the Week award under Bobby Hurley.
Desmond Cambridge Jr. – Pac-12 Player of the Week
It’s hard to have a better week than what Sun Devil Men’s Basketball guard Desmond Cambridge Jr. had, as he garnered national attention by hitting a shot from beyond half court at the buzzer to knock of No. 7 Arizona in McKale Center on Saturday. One of the greatest shots in program history was featured as the No. 1 play on SportsCenter’s Top-10 on Saturday night and gave the Sun Devils a signature victory on their resume.
The three-time Pac-12 Player of the Week came through when his team needed him the most, hitting a three to put ASU up 82-81 with 2:24 to go before the game-winning bucket with less than two seconds left, as he drained his second shot of the year from beyond half court and second game-winning shot (game-winning three pointer at Colorado on 12/1).
Cambridge Jr. finished the game with a team-high 19 points on 8-of-16 shooting, the fifth straight game he has been in double figures, helping Arizona State pick up its first road victory over a top 10 team since Dec. 10, 2017 over #2 Kansas in Lawrence. He added four rebounds, four assists, and a steal while serving as a key piece to the ASU defensive effort that held Arizona to one field goal in the last seven minutes of the ballgame.
Arizona State outscored the Wildcats 21-10 over the final 6:30 of regulation. As an unranked team in Tucson, the Sun Devils entered 0-29. This was their first win as an unranked team in program history at Arizona.
UP NEXT
The Sun Devils prepare to take on their second consecutive Top-10 opponent on the road, facing No. 4 UCLA in Los Angeles on Thursday, March 2 at 7 PM MST. Catch the action on ESPN, with Roxy Bernstein and Corey Williams on the call. ASU will then complete the regular season slate with a trip to USC on Saturday, March 4 at 9 PM MST on FS1.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Connor Smith
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