ASU Men's Hoops Overwhelms San Diego in Second Half

TEMPE – 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 threes. Basheer Jihad found got to the free throw line at a high rate and finished 8-of-11 from the line, 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 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. 
 
Sun Devil Freshman Blocks Record (1978-79-present)
55, Mario Bennett, 1991-92
33, Jamal Faulkner, 1990-91
32, Jayden Quaintance, 2024-25
31, Ike Diogu, 2002-03
29, Jalen Graham, 2019-20

Sansational Start
Joson Sanon continues to emerge as one of the premier freshman in the country. He finished with 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting off the bench. Over the last six games, Joson Sanon has scored a total of 117 points (19.5 ppg) and grabbed 25 rebounds (4.2 rpg). During that span, he is shooting 41-74 (55.4%) from the field and 20-34 (58.8%) from beyond the arc. He is now averaging a team-best 15.9 points per game this season.

Ba-Sheer Force
In his first two games, Basheer Jihad combined for five points on 1-of-10 shooting. Over his past seven games, Jihad has accumulated 115 points (16.4 ppg) on 31-of-59 (52.5%) shooting . He is also 46-for-61 (75.4%) from the free throw line during that span. Jihad came into the game second in conference in free throw attempts having shot 52 prior to tonight and managed to add onto that start shooting 11 free throw attempts tonight.

Home Court Advantage
Arizona State has won their past 14 non-conference home games dating back to a loss to San Francisco on Dec. 19, 2021. That includes a 4-0 record this season at Desert Financial Arena. Nine of those wins have come by double digits, including tonight's 37-point win.

Dialed in from Deep
The Sun Devils finished 12-of-23 from beyond the arc, the 20th game shooting 50% or better from three under head coach Bobby Hurley. The 52.2% mark from deep is the 13th-best in the Hurley era (since 2015-16).

Best Three-Point Shooting Percentages under Hurley
1/18/20 vs Utah - 61.1%, 11/18
11/19/17 vs UC Irvine - 60.9%, 14/23
2/6/20 vs UCLA - 58.3%, 14/24
11/17/22 vs Michigan - 57.9%, 11/19
12/30/16 at Stanford - 54.2%, 13/24
3/9/22 vs Stanford - 53.6%, 15/28
2/17/21 at USC - 53.3%, 8/15
2/24/22 at Colorado - 52.9%, 9/17
11/10/22 vs NAU - 52.9%, 9/17
2/27/20 at UCLA - 52.6%, 10/19
3/15/23 vs Nevada - 52.4%, 11/21
1/21/21 vs Arizona - 52.4%, 11/21
12/3/24 vs San Diego - 52.2%, 12/23
2/20/21 at UCLA - 50%, 10/20
11/26/19 at Princeton - 50%, 8/16
1/9/20 at Oregon State - 50%, 8/16
11/21/18 at Utah State - 50%, 7/14
11/23/17 at Kansas State - 50%, 9/18
12/10/17 at Kansas - 50%, 14/28
12/03/16 vs UNLV - 50%, 18/36

The 12 three pointers mark the fourth time ASU has reached double figures in the category. The Sun Devils are 4-0 this season when accomplishing the feat this season.

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

Series History
ASU now holds a 4-1 lead in the all-time series, including a 4-0 record at home. The Sun Devils have outscored the Toreros 181-120 in the past two matchups at Desert Financial Arena.
 
Preventing the Passing
Arizona State held San Diego to only six assists on the night, matching Idaho State for the lowest output by an opponent this season. Those totals are the fewest that the Sun Devils have allowed since limiting San Francisco to just five assists in a 71-67 victory on 12/3/19. 

By contrast, Arizona State finished with 17 assists, the sixth time this season they have finished with 15+ assists. 

Free-d Up
Senior guard/forward BJ Freeman has been extremely consistent this season. With his 14-point outing, Freeman now has a team-high seven double-digit scoring performances this year. His 18.6 career points per game is second nationally and he has averaged 13.5 points over his past four games after not reaching double figures in the previous two.

Getting Defensive
San Diego shot 33% from the field and 10.5% from beyond the arc, marking their lowest shooting percentages in a game since they shot 29.6% from the field and 8.3% from beyond the arc against San Francisco on January 30, 2020.

Tuesday Night Turnaround
- After shooting 37.5% from the field in the first half, the Sun Devils were able to find their groove and shot 64% from the field in the second half. 
- Arizona State started off the game being down 17-5, but managed to put together a 35-16 run to finish off the half, taking a 40-33 lead heading into halftime
- Arizona State started off the night shooting 1-of-7 beyond the arc, but found their rhythm and finished the night shooting 12-of-23 from the three-point line. 

Forcing Fouls
The Sun Devils attempted 35 free throws, marking the third time they have shot 30+ free throws and the sixth time they have shot 20+ free throws this season. 

Owning the Glass
Arizona State came into the game having out-rebounding teams by a combined +35 in the last two home games. They added to that total, boasting a 48-33 advantage over the Toreros tonight. They now hold a +50 advantage over opponents in total rebounds over their past three home games. ASU had 12 offensive rebounds, their fourth time recording 10+ boards on the offensive end in a game this season.

Protecting the Paint
Arizona State finished with 10 blocks on the night, marking the last time they have reached double figures in that stat since they had 11 blocks against Tarleton State in the season opener on November 7, 2022.

Run Away
Several extended runs were a key to the Sun Devil victory. Arizona State's 10-2 scoring run over 2:36 right before halftime gave them a lead they would not relinquish. The nail in the coffin came during courtesy of a 23-1 scoring run over a 7:29 span in the second half, putting the game away for good.

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 Ali in 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. 
 
Head Coach Bobby Hurley: 
 
Open Statement: 
"I didn't do a good job getting us ready to play for this game. We just didn't come out right at all, you know, we're just a little bit flat, didn't have the edge we needed. We can't afford that. I think I understand why it happened so I'll be able to make some adjustments in terms of the days leading into a game like this. Outside of that the second half was great. We sat down and guarded better and played better at the offensive end as well." 
 
On freshman Jayen Quaintance Defense: 
"Lavin couldn't have drawn up a better play to run against us and they went side to side, a nice spin back cut. I don't know where Jayden Quaintance came from to block that but to have someone on your team who could do stuff like that, it demoralizes your opponent a little bit and it intimidates your opponent.I was just in awe of seeing it. It's something I could never do. He even his block in the first half when he fell down and then got up and blocked I mean, it's scary. His timing and his instincts and mobility for someone so big….His activity, deflections, the blocks they make it easier to get out to an open court game." 
 
On Senior Alston Mason importance as a player in pressure moments:
"He's a very stable guy, very stable. He's played a lot of basketball. I sleep good knowing he's gonna be dribbling the ball down the floor. He just takes command of the team runs. The team understands everything we're doing and can make plays. He's a guy that has proven over our initial stretch here that down the stretch, he's our guy that we could go to late in games to make a shot. Certainly knock down some free throws." 
 
Forward Basheer Jihad:
 
On first half struggles:
"We just didn't come out with the right approach to the game, it was as simple as that. We didn't come out with the right approach and we got hit in the mouth early."
 
On the turnaround at the end of the first half and into the second:
"Yeah, they were playing a 2-3 zone for most of the game. Obviously, we haven't seen that much this year, so, it may have made us a little uncomfortable. But once we figured it out, we abused it… It's just an adjustment, obviously. But we have shooting, so you can shoot your way out of the zone and you're not gonna see it again."
 
On the team's ball movement:
"We have unselfish guys. We all want to win. Everyone is a capable passer and we have willing passers, so, just sharing the wealth."
 
On Jayden Quaintance shot blocking:
"It's crazy. I'm amazed at almost every game, honestly. I really am. He has a great feel for it and it just comes out of nowhere. I'm amazed every game."
 
Guard Joson Sanon:
 
On his performance from beyond the arc:
"I'm just trying to win. That's really it to be honest. If I'm open, I'm shooting it."
 
On coming off the bench to start the game:
"It gives me a more opportunity to see the floor. Like if the starters might mess up here and there, I won't try to come and make the same mistake. It gives me more freedom."
 
On prioritizing his defensive efforts:
"I focus on defense first and my offense comes later. That's one thing I did well in high school. I would get those chase-down blocks here and there."
 
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.
 
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