Arizona State (3-1) controlled the second half and emerged with a 87-76 win over GCU (2-1). Behind 21 points from freshman guard Joson Sanon off the bench along with 18 from senior forward Basheer Jihad, Bobby Hurley secured the 200th career win of his head coaching career. Arizona State rose to the occasion in another premiere atmosphere, as 13,705 Valley basketball fans were in attendance to watch the in-state rivals do battle.
GCU trailed Western Kentucky by six with under 90 seconds to play in their last game, but ended the game on an 8-0 run to defeat a 2024 NCAA tournament team and C-USA preseason favorite. Despite the reputation of resiliency from their foe, Arizona State squashed any potential GCU comeback attempt, answering every run the Lopes put together down the stretch.
Three Sun Devils players reached double figures tonight, led by Joson Sanon, who came off the bench and had 21 points while connecting 5-of-7 shots beyond the arc. Basheer Jihad found his rhythm at the free throw line, shooting 9-11 at the line and finishing with 18 points and five rebounds. Alston Mason operated the offense effectively throughout the contest, adding 16 points while dishing out five assists.
3-1 Start
The Sun Devils are now 3-1 or better to start the season for the seventh time in the Bobby Hurley era. None of those seasons offered the type of challenges presented by the 2024-25 campaign. To reach 3-1, Arizona State has had to defeat two 2024 NCAA Tournament teams away from home (Santa Clara – Las Vegas, Grand Canyon – Phoenix). Their lone loss is a closely contested affair on the road at No. 4 Gonzaga. Head Coach Bobby Hurley’s staff put together one of the most difficult non-conference schedules in the country and his team is responding positively.
Series History
Arizona State owns a 4-0 advantage in the series (not counting an exhibition victory), winning the first ever matchup held at a neutral site between the two sides. The Sun Devils are 3-0 against the Lopes since they made the transition to the Division I level for the 2013-14 season. The 11-point margin of victory is ASU’s largest in the series. It is the first double-digit regular season loss suffered by GCU since Feb. 24, 2023 against Seattle. It snapped the Lopes’ 43-game streak in the regular season without losing by 10+ points.
Milestone Complete
Hurley earned the 200th win in his head coaching career between Arizona State and Buffalo in his 12th season at the Division I level. 158 of those wins have come with Sun Devil Men’s Basketball. Hurley also earned his 150th career win over Grand Canyon back in 2021.
First Half:
Basheer Jihad knocked down two free throws to give the Sun Devils their first points of the night, tying it up at 2-2 against the Lopes. BJ Freeman was able to grab his own rebound off his initial shot at the rack and got it to go down being contested, tying it back up at 6-6 heading into the first media timeout.
Coming out of the medi timeout, Alston Mason was able to knock one down beyond the arc, giving ASU a 9-6 lead over GCU, their first lead of the night. Shawn Phillips Jr. was all over the glass, securing an alley-oop dunk and a put-back dunk, to give the Sun Devils a 13-10 lead with 12:16 remaining in the first half.
BJ Freeman backed his man down for a tough fade-hook shot, giving ASU a 17-14 lead over GCU with 10:12 remaining in the half. Amier Ali took control for a contested three off the fast-break, giving the Sun Devils a 20-17 lead over the Lopes. GCU managed to complete a 4-0 scoring run before the third media timeout, taking a 21-20 lead over ASU.
Joson Sanon pulled one from deep with a hand in his face and knocked it down, regaining a 25-22 lead with 6:28 remaining in the first half. The Lopes managed to go on a 7-0 scoring run, forcing the Sun Devils to take a timeout while being down 30-28. Heading into the last media timeout of the half with 3:57 remaining, Basheer Jihad is set to shoot two free throws to bring ASU’s deficit within two.
Joson Sanon found his rhythm with knocking down back-to-back shots beyond the arc, closing ASU’s deficit within one with GCU leading 40-39. Alston Mason took it to the rack and managed to rattle it in, giving the Sun Devils a 41-40 lead over the Lopes heading into halftime.
Second Half:
Adam Miller snuck in a pass to Jayden Quaintance under the basket for an easy layup, giving the Sun Devils a 43-40 lead to begin the second half. Alston Mason kicked it out to Adam Miller for a wide-open three, giving ASU a 50-43 lead over GCU with 16:57 remaining in regulation. Jayden Quaintance found Basheer Jihad wide open in the corner for an easy knock-down three, giving the Sun Devils a 53-45 lead heading into the first media timeout of the half with 15:54 remaining.
After GCU managed to put together a 7-0 scoring run, Alston Mason was able to knock down both free throw attempts, giving ASU a 55-52 lead over GCU with 12:59 remaining in regulation. Alston Mason found Joson Sanon open beyond the arc for another knocked-down three, giving the Sun Devils a 61-52 lead over the Lopes heading into the second media timeout with 11:53 remaining in the half.
Alston Mason took advantage of the fast-break and found Jayden Quaintance in the paint for a one-hand slam, giving ASU a 64-55 lead with 9:25 remaining in the half. Alston Mason took advantage of the fast-break once again and took it all the way to the rack to give the Sun Devils a 71-60 lead, forcing the Lopes to use their last timeout of the half to regroup.
Coming out of the media timeout, a 4-0 scoring run put together by GCU was cut short with the help of Basheer Jihad knocking down both free throws, giving ASU a 73-64 lead with 5:27 remaining in regulation. Following that, Basheer Jihad knocked down a contested jay from the corner for an and-1 opportunity. The Sun Devils hold a 78-69 lead over the Lopes with Basheer Jihad heading to the line after the last media timeout of regulation.
Jayden Quaintance pick-pocketed the defender and found Adam Miller in the fast-break for a contested layup, increasing the Sun Devils lead to 83-71 with 2:40 remaining. ASU took control of the final minutes and were able to bleed the clock until the buzzer, coming out on top with a 87-76 win over GCU.
The Grand Canyon Arizona State
Grand Canyon now falls to 131-47 in the state of Arizona since becoming a Division I program (2013-14). Arizona State is responsible for three of those losses. GCU is now 0-3 against the Sun Devils and boast a 131-44 (75%) in other games played in Arizona.
The Jayden Quaintance Effect
Jayden Quaintance came into tonight’s game leading the nation in blocks per game thus far in the season. He added two blocks to his total tonight and had an impact on GCU shooting at the rim. The Lopes finished a putrid 13-for-28 (46%) on layups and 19-for-42 (45%) on shots inside the arc in large part due to Jayden Quaintance’s presence down low.
Neutralizing the Opponent
Arizona State continues their success under Bobby Hurley at neutral sites. The Sun Devils have defeated two NCAA Tournament teams in neutral settings already in 2024-25 (Grand Canyon, Santa Clara). ASU has now won 15 games overall under Hurley in neutral games. That includes past wins over NC State, Kansas State, St. John’s, Mississippi State, Xavier, Michigan, Utah State, and Creighton.
Finding our Rhythm
The Sun Devils started off the game shooting 1-7 from the field and had just four points four minutes into the game, but settled in after that. Arizona State shot 13-for-21 from the field and scored 37 points the rest of the half to take the lead into the break.
Ba-sheer Force
In his first two games, Basheer Jihad combined for five points on 1-of-10 shooting. Over his past two games, Jihad has accumulated 40 points on 11-of-19 shooting. He is also 16-for-18 (88.9%) from the free throw line during that span.
Jo can Go
Freshman Joson Sanon put on a clinic in the win. He came off the bench to score a game-high 21 points, making five three-point field goals. His five three-pointers were the most by an ASU true freshman since December 28, 2019, when Jaelen House hit five against Texas Southern. The 21 points are the most by an ASU freshman since Josh Christopher put up 22 against UCLA on January 7, 2021.
Filing the Stands
Arizona State rose to the occasion in another premiere atmosphere, as 13,705 Valley basketball fans were in attendance to watch the in-state rivals do battle.
Empty the Notebook
– Arizona State had a staggering 21 points off of turnovers as well as 30 points off the bench
– Arizona State owns a 4-0 advantage in the series (not counting an exhibition victory), including sweeping a home-and-home set in 2020-21.
– GCU had won two of its last three games at Footprint Center before tonight.
– From 13:34 to 8:47 in the second half, ASU went on a 14-4 run in 4:47, shooting 4-of-6 from the field and limiting the Lopes to 1-of-10 shooting, extending the lead to 11. The lead would never get below 7 points for the rest of the game.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Connor Smith
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