TEMPE, Ariz. — Washington State prides itself on defense.

The sixth-ranked Cougars were never prouder than yesterday, when they came up with two big stops in the final minute to pull out a 56-55 victory over No. 24 Arizona State.

Derrick Low scored 18 points, all on 3-pointers, as Washington State overcame an early 11-point deficit for a hard-earned split on its trip to the desert.

"We made just enough plays and made just enough stops to win," Washington State coach Tony Bennett said. "I'd be sick if we would've lost it. I'm sure Arizona State's feeling sick about it."

The Cougars (17-2, 5-2 Pac-10) survived the upset bid when Arizona State's star freshman James Harden came up short on a drive to the basket at the buzzer. Harden finished with 25 points, his 10th 20-point game.

Then the Cougars survived an angry Wells Fargo Arena crowd. Bennett said his assistant coaches told him that "a couple" Washington State players were hit by debris thrown from the stands as they left the floor. Bennett did not identify the players.

"A couple of our kids did get peppered in the head by water bottles coming off the court," Bennett said.

"That's unfortunate. There's a lot of energy and emotion, but you know, you don't throw stuff at players. And who knows? Maybe it was trying to go at the official and maybe it dovetailed at him. I hope not. It's heat of the moment. But nobody got hurt, so we'll live to fight another day."

Arizona State athletic director Lisa Love said she would review video.

"We certainly don't want things to come out of the stands and we don't want to put anybody at risk," Love said.

Low, an 'Iolani School alum, bounced back nicely after going just 2-of-9 from the field in a loss at Arizona two nights earlier. He finished 6-of-11 yesterday, all from behind the arc.

The Sun Devils (14-5, 4-3) had dropped two straight, including a deflating 72-61 home loss to Washington on Thursday night. Washington State was coming off a 76-64 loss at Arizona two nights earlier.

"Any time you can get a win on the road, you know it's big-time in this league, so we'll take it," Cougar guard Kyle Weaver said.

Taylor Rochestie added 13 points for the Cougars, who launched an 18-0 run late in the first half and into the second.

Washington State led 56-48 lead with 2:50 to play, but ASU went on a 7-0 run capped by Harden's layup with 1:09 left.

Neither team scored again.