LAS VEGAS – Tra Holder had found himself in this position before.

In each of his two previous seasons at Arizona State, the junior guard had watched his team blow second-half leads as they bowed out in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament.

The Sun Devils (15-17) did so again Wednesday, blowing a once double-digit lead in the final minute before rallying in overtime to survive with a 98-88 win over No. 9 seed Stanford (14-17).

The first-ever Pac-12 Tournament game and the newly-built T-Mobile Arena was also the largest combined scoring game between two teams in conference tournament history with 186 total points. Unlike in previous losses to USC and Oregon State, however, this time the Sun Devils had more at then end of the game.

“I just remember my last two years we kind of had the lead and we kind of froze up and didn't find the way to win the game,” Holder said. “I don't know. I try to make plays for the team, and luckily I made some shots.

For the first time in Holder’s career – and the first time since 2013 – ASU is advancing in the Pac-12 Tournament. The Sun Devils have struggled historically in the tournament, as Wednesday’s win was just the program’s fourth in 18 games since the tournament was re-introduced in 2002.

And to think it almost all fell apart, with Stanford overcoming a 12-point deficit over the final 11:03 of regulation to tie the game. Holder’s fallaway 3-pointer at the buzzer was too strong, bouncing off the back of the iron and forcing overtime. ASU would take control from that point on.

“You know, it shows the character and the determination of my team and the heart of my team to rebound from being tied at the end there,” ASU coach Bobby Hurley said. “Even Tra had a great look at a shot to win the game in regulation and to respond and be able to keep playing well and putting them away.”

Holder was clinical and efficient, adding 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting while adding four assists in a team-high 43 minutes.

The Sun Devils sprinted from the jump, taking the early lead and quickly growing it to double-digits in the first half. They led by as many as 14 in the opening period, shooting a staggering 60 percent from the floor and hitting half of their 10 3-point attempts.

After shooting 34 percent from the floor and tallying just 60 points – more than 20 lower than their season average – against Arizona, the Sun Devil offense rebounded. They shot a season-high 55.9 percent from the floor, including 45.5 percent from behind the arc.

All five starters scored in double figures, totaling 96 of the team’s 98 total points.

“See if we could have our starters score 96 out of 98 again tomorrow (against Oregon),” Hurley said. “You guys sign on for that? I'd be happy if you guys could do that again. That would be great.”

Senior forward Obinna Oleka was brilliant, adding 13 of his career-high 27 points in the first half while contributing eight of his final total of 13 rebounds. It marked his 16th double-double of the season, the fourth-most in program history and most since the school joined the Pac-10 in 1978.

“Someone could always be on (Obi’s) poster,” Hurley said. “He's got those type of explosiveness to the rim. He did a little bit of everything. Just the six offensive rebounds, seven defensive rebounds, he's been an anchor for us around the basket and just really good all-around effort.

“Obi is a match-up nightmare for people because of the mobility and his quickness and the physicality. So the combination of size and quickness and ability to go away from the baskets, just all the things that he brings, gives us great confidence too.”

ASU carried its momentum into the second half, maintaining their double-digit lead. The Sun Devils’ guard-dominant attack posed a threat on Stanford’s bigs, creating matchup problems all over the floor.

“We're not traditional,” Hurley said. “We're different, but different in a really good way.”

It took until the Cardinal switched the matchups up on them that the Sun Devils’ lead began to dwindle. Stanford chipped away in the final minute of the game, getting as close as one point away from the lead as they continually dumped the ball into bigs, Reid Travis and Michael Humphrey.

Stanford finally knotted things up with 3.3 seconds left on Humphrey’s fall-away jumper from the free-throw line. To that point, ASU had led or been tied with Stanford for all but 1:20 – 80 total seconds.

The Cardinal came out from the overtime gassed. Arizona State again jumped out to a lead, scoring the first five points of the period. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Evans and senior Torian Graham just about sealed it

“We were anxious, but also kind of re-energized,” Evans said. “We knew offensively it was going to come to us, so we were trying to get stops. It’s basketball, every team makes their runs. I’m just glad we had the last one.”

The magic number for the Sun Devils now is three. Three more wins and they are in the NCAA Tournament. The task doesn’t get easier, as they face top overall seed Oregon at noon local time at T-Mobile Arena.

ASU played Oregon tough in Eugene on Feb. 2, falling 71-70 in one of the Duck’s biggest home scares. The Sun Devils are hoping to replicate the performance with a more favorable result and double their conference tournament win total since Hurley took over last year.

"How can I say this in the right way so it doesn't get leaked out," Graham said. “Just like people don’t want to play (Oregon), I don’t think people want to play us.”