Arizona State (4-1) continued the winning ways of Sun Devil Athletics this weekend, securing a 81-66 victory of their own over St. Thomas (3-2) in the first meeting between the two sides. A pair of second half spurts paved the way for the Sun Devils to take the victory, as an 11-3 scoring run with five minutes remaining and a 9-0 scoring run coming out of the final media timeout sealed the deal.
Four Sun Devils reached double figures tonight – led by senior forward Basheer Jihad – who put up another 20-point effort while also grabbing six boards. Freshman forward Jayden Quaintance put together arguably his best collegiate performance, accounting for 13 points and 14 rebounds on his way to recording his first career double-double. Fellow freshman Joson Sanon shot lights out once again, finishing with 18 points and nine boards while nailing 3-of-5 three pointers. Freshman guard/forward Amier Ali contributed 10 points and two rebounds, meaning 41 of the 81 Sun Devil points and 25 of 44 rebounds came courtesy of the highly-touted freshman class.
4-1 Start
Arizona State starts 4-1 for the first time since the 2022-2023 season and the fourth time under the Bobby Hurley era (2017-18, 2018-19, 2022-23, 2024-25).
Series History
This was the first meeting between the two sides, as St. Thomas joined the Division I ranks prior to the 2021-22 season. The Tommies won 20 games a year ago as members of the Summit League.
Defending without Fouling
The Sun Devils only committed seven personal fouls tonight, marking the fewest personal fouls by ASU in a game since being called for seven personal fouls in a 68-52 win over Coppin State on Dec. 29, 2012. The five free throws by the Tommies were their lowest since they shot 4-of-5 against North Dakota on December 29, 2023. The last time they made three free throws or less dates back to November 6, 2023 when they shot 2-of-3 against Cal.
Owning the Glass
The Sun Devils out rebounded the Tommies 44-29, marking the largest rebound margin difference since ASU out rebounded Tarleton State 54-39 in the 2022 season opener (Nov. 7).
Taming the Tommies
St. Thomas came into the game averaging 89.8 points per game while shooting 50.6% overall and 43.2% from deep. Arizona State held the Tommies to only 66 points on 39.4% overall shooting and 29.7% from three.
Aggressiveness Rewarded
Arizona State shot 26 free throws compared to only 5 for St. Thomas. It is the largest free throw attempt difference since a 22 free-throw difference (43-19) in a 73-72 win over SMU on December 6, 2023.
Holding their Star in Check
St. Thomas forward Carter Bjerke shot 47-of-101 (45.6%) from deep in 33 games last year and came into the game shooting 9-of-20 (45%) on three-pointers. Arizona State held him to just 2-of-8 (25%) from beyond the arc.
Ba-Sheer Force
In his first two games, Basheer Jihad combined for five points on 1-of-10 shooting. Over his past three games, Jihad has accumulated 57 points on 16-of-30 (.53%) shooting . He is also 23-for-28 (82.1%) from the free throw line during that span.
80-point Streak
For the first time since the 2017-18 season, Arizona State has reached the 80-point mark in four straight games. That season, Arizona State did it in six straight games, including a win over No. 15 Xavier. That 2017-18 team went on to make the NCAA Tournament.
First Half
BJ Freeman backed his man down to the paint and had an easy look for a layup opportunity at the glass to give the Sun Devils their first points of the night, trailing 3–2 to the Tommies. Alston Mason took advantage of the fast-break and found Joson Sanon on the wing for a knock-down three to give ASU their first lead of the night, leading 8-6 over St. Thomas with 15:49 remaining in the first half.
Coming out of the media timeout, the Tommies seemed to have found their rhythm with back-door cuts to the rack, giving them a 16-13 lead over the Sun Devils with 12:55 remaining.
Alston Mason was able to knock down a shot beyond the arc to bring ASU’s deficit within one, trailing 19-18 to St. Thomas with 8:47 remaining. Adam Miller is set to shoot two at the line once they return from the media timeout to potentially retain the lead.
Amier Ali took control off a loose-ball steal and took it to the rack for an easy layup, giving the Sun Devils a 21-19 lead with 7:42 remaining. Basheer Jihad was able to knock one down at the top of the arc, giving ASU their biggest lead of the night, leading 26-21 over St. Thomas. Heading into the last media timeout of the half, the Sun Devils held a 31-26 lead over the Tommies with 2:25 left to play.
Adam Miller found Jayden Quaintance rolling on pick-and-roll for an easy one-hand slam, increasing ASU’s lead to 33-26 over St. Thomas with 1:42 remaining in the half. Once again, Adam Miller found Jayden Quaintance cutting to the hoop for a grown man two-hand slam with three seconds remaining in the half. The Sun Devils head into halftime with a 39-29 lead over the Tommies.
Second Half
St. Thomas jumped out of the gate coming out of halftime and managed to put together a 8-0 scoring run, but Basheer Jihad was able to turn a layup into an and-1 opportunity, giving ASU a 42-37 lead with 17:25 remaining in regulation. A block by Jayden Quaintance turned into a fast-break jay from the top of the paint by Joson Sanon, extending the Sun Devils lead to 46-39 over the Tommies. Heading into the first media timeout of the half, ASU held a 46-41 lead over St. Thomas with 15:00 remaining.
Amier Ali found Jayden Quaintance wideopen in the corner for a knock-down three to give the Sun Devils a 52-46 lead with 12:31 remaining in regulation. Amier Ali is set to shoot two from the line after the taken media timeout, with ASU still holding onto a 52-46 lead.
BJ Freeman found Amier Ali on the fast-break for a layup under the basket, giving the Sun Devils a 55-48 lead over the Tommies. Following that, St. Thomas was able to score two quick baskets at the rack, forcing ASU to take a timeout to regroup while still holding onto a 55-52 lead with 9:37 remaining in regulation. The Sun Devils and Tommies exchanged points, with the Sun Devils on top holding a 58-55 lead heading into the third media timeout of the half with 7:36 remaining in the half.
A pair of free throws knocked down by Basheer Jihad gave ASU a 63-55 lead with 5:47 left to go in regulation.Joson Sanon and Adam Miller found their groove hitting back-to-back treys, increasing the Sun Devils lead to 69-58 with 4:00 remaining in regulation.
Coming out of the media timeout, ASU came out hot and put together a 9-0 scoring run with the help of a catch-and-shoot by Joson Sanon in the corner, giving ASU a 78-58 lead with 1:53 remaining in the half. The Sun Devils were then able to bleed the clock till the buzzer sounded, with the Sun Devils winning 81-66 over the Tommies.
Up Next
Sun Devil Men’s Basketball will be returning to Tempe and Desert Financial Arena where they will host Cal Poly on November 20th at 7 p.m. MST. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN+ and also available on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM (KMVP).
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Connor Smith
Click on Logo
