(Tempe, AZ) Sun Devil Men’s Basketball returned to Desert Financial Arena after a successful week in the Acrisure Classic and took care of business against the Toreros.
Arizona State (8-1) surged in the second half and cruised to a 90-53 victory over San Diego (3-5) on Tuesday night. The Sun Devils came out on fire after the break, shooting 16-of-25 (64%) from the field including an incredible 7-of-11 (64%) from beyond the arc.
Five Sun Devils finished with double figures tonight led by Joson Sanon’s 19 points, as he connected on 5-of-8 three pointers. Basheer Jihad got to the free throw line at a high rate (8-of-11), matching Sanon’s 19 points while adding five rebounds as well. Jayden Quaintance was dominant in the paint and finished with a near double-double, posting 10 points along with nine rebounds and a staggering five blocks. BJ Freeman showed out tonight from three-point range, ending 3-of-6 from deep on his way to a 14-point effort. Alston Mason (10 points) made it four of five starters in double figures.
8-1 Start
Arizona State starts 8-1 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).
Block Party
Freshman Jayden Quaintance added five more rejections and has recorded 32 blocks thus far in the 2024-2025 season, tied for the most of any player in the nation. He has already surpassed Pac-12 career blocks leader Jordan Bachynski on the ASU freshman single-season blocks list. Quaintance has the third-most blocks in a single season by a freshman in program history and has done it in only nine games. He has two or more blocks in all eight games this year, including five 4+ block performances.
Why They Won
Head Coach Bobby Hurley’s team did all the little things right and owned several important statistical categories.
Rebounds: 48-33, ASU
Bench Points: 28-12, ASU
Fast Break Points: 17-9, ASU
Second Chance Points: 14-2, ASU
First Half
Basheer Jihad opens the night sinking 1-of-2 free throws to give the Sun Devils their first points of the night, leading 1-0 with 9:15 remaining in the half. Following that, San Diego managed to put together a 7-2 scoring run to take a 7-3 lead, heading into the first media timeout with 15:48 remaining.
Arizona State continued to struggle from the field but a block by Joson Sanon gave the Sun Devils some momentum heading into the second media timeout, with the Toreros holding onto a 17-5 lead with 11:45 remaining in the first half. (Two 7 point runs by USD)
Coming out of the media timeout, Jihad found himself at the line again knocking down 1-of-2 free throws, bringing Arizona State’s deficit within 11. Jayden Quaintance pick-pocketed the defender which turned into a fast-break opportunity for Alston Mason who got fouled going up, and converted both free throws to bring San Diego’s lead to 19-12 with 9:58 remaining. Jihad found Sanon in the corner for a catch-and-shoot treyball, bringing the Sun Devils deficit within five. Shawn Phillips Jr. cleaned up Jihad’s missed layup for a put-back dunk, forcing the Toreros to take a timeout holding onto a 24-18 lead with 7:30 remaining.
Adam Miller took full advantage of the fast-break play and took it from one court end to the other and finished at the rim being contested, bringing Arizona State’s deficit within three. Adam Miller found Amier Aliin the corner for a shot beyond the arc, giving the Sun Devils a 28-27 lead after being down 17-5 to start off the night. Arizona State held onto a 30-27 lead heading into the final media timeout of the half, with Joson Sanon heading to the line.
Joson Sanon seemed to have found his rhythm by knocking down back-to-back shots beyond the arc, forcing the Toreros to take a timeout with the Sun Devils holding onto a 37-29 lead. BJ Freeman knocked down his first three of the night, giving Arizona State a 40-33 lead over San Diego heading into halftime.
Second Half
Basheer Jihad put his man in a blender with a shifty spin-post move and finished at the rim, giving the Sun Devils a 42-33 lead heading out of the first half. BJ Freeman found Jayden Quaintance cutting to the rack for a grown man two-hand slam, increasing Arizona State’s lead to 51-41 over San Diego going into the first media timeout with 14:53 remaining in regulation.
BJ Freeman was able to knock one down beyond the arc to give the Sun Devils their biggest lead of the night at 13, leading 56-33 with 13:56 left in regulation. Basheer Jihad pulled the trigger in the corner while being heavily contested and knocked it down, increasing Arizona State’s lead to 61-44 heading into another media timeout with 11:51 remaining.
After Adam Miller managed to knock down a three, Joson Sanon caught fire and knocked down back-to-back treyballs once again, boosting the Sun Devils lead to 70-44 with 9:40 remaining in regulation. BJ Freeman got a treyball of his own by getting a lucky bounce to fall, giving the Sun Devils a 30 point lead heading into the third media timeout with 7:49 left in regulation.
After missing a contested jay, Adam Miller was able to grab his own rebound, and is heading to the line after the final media timeout of regulation. Arizona State held a 81-49 lead over San Diego with 3:59 remaining.
Alston Mason continued to find the open spot and knocked down back-to-back jumpers, increasing the Sun Devils lead to 86-49. Head Coach Bobby Hurley’s son, Bobby Hurley Jr., managed to sink 1-of-2 at the line to give Arizona State a 90-51 lead with the time dwindling down. The Sun Devils were able to bleed the clock till the buzzer, walking away with a 90-53 victory over the Toreros.
Up Next
Sun Devil Men’s Basketball will be heading to Atlanta, Georgia to face Florida in the Holiday Hoopsgiving on December 14th at 1:30 p.m. MST. Coverage can be found on SEC Network.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Connor Smith
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