Defense Pushes Men's Basketball to Season Opening Win

TEMPE – Sun Devils Men's Basketball took down non-conference opponent Idaho State in their home-opener on Tuesday night at Desert Financial Arena.
 
Arizona State (1-0, 0-0) pulled out a hard fought 55-48 win over Idaho State (0-1, 0-0) to kick off the 2024-2025 regular season. Guard Joson Sanon and forward Jayden Quaintance made their highly-anticipated collegiate debut in front of the home crowd, becoming the first freshman duo to start the first game of the year since 2020. ASU used a historic defensive effort to secure the ninth straight win in a home opener under Head Coach Bobby Hurley.
 
The Sun Devils held Idaho State to 48 points in tonight's home-opener, tied for third lowest points scored by an opponent since 2000. Arizona State also held Idaho State to a 25.4 FG%, marking the lowest FG% by ISU since Montana held them to 24.6 FG% on February 6, 2012. The 14.3% shooting from beyond the arc by the Bengals was the lowest percentage by a Sun Devil opponent since Grambling shot 7.7% from deep on November 22, 2022

Three Sun Devils players reached double figures tonight, led by senior guard Alston Mason, who finished with 14 points while connecting on 2-of-4 shots from downtown. Senior forward BJ Freeman was productive off the bench and nearly reached double-double, finishing with 12 points and eight rebounds. Joson Sanon looked comfortable in his first game as a Sun Devil, as he finished with 11 points, three rebounds, and three assists.
 
Series history
Arizona State opened their home schedule and regular season on Nov. 5 by taking on Idaho State. The two sides have matched up six times since 1957, with ASU now holding a 5-1 advantage in the series. 

Home opener success
The Sun Devils have won their past nine home openers under Bobby Hurley. They are averaging 79.3 points in home-opener games while giving up only 64.9. ASU is 11-1 in their last 12 home openers.

Season opener under Hurley
Arizona State is 8-2 in season openers against non-conference opponents in the Bobby Hurley era, having won eight of their last nine. In five of those games, the Sun Devils have scored 88+ points. Overall since 2000, the Maroon & Gold are 21-6 in season openers dating back to the 1998-99 season.

Notables

• The Sun Devils were able to go on a 11-0 run, marking their biggest run margin thus far in the season.
• Arizona State held Idaho State to a 25.4 FG% and a 14.3 3FG%, marking the lowest FG percentage since Montana (24.6 FG%) on February 6, 2012 and 3FG percentage since Grambling (7.7 3FG%) on November 22, 2022
• Idaho State's lowest FG% in 2023 was 35.8% at Oregon State on December 21, 2023.
• Idaho State was held to their lowest point total since Jan. 1, 2022 when they fell to Montana State 60-40.
• The Sun Devils held Idaho State to 48 points in tonight's home-opener, ranking tied for third lowest points scored by an opponent since 2000.
• Jayden Quaintance and Joson Sanon are the first freshman to start on opening night since Marcus Bagley and Josh Christopher in 2020.
• The duo are the seventh and eighth freshman in the Bobby Hurley era to start on opening night.
• Alston Mason reached double figures scoring in 26 games last season and also did so in his Sun Devil debut (14 points).
• Idaho State's 25.4 FG% is the lowest that an ASU opponent has had since Oregon State's 24.6 FG% on February 11, 2010.
• Jayden Quaintance's 6 blocks was the most in a single game since De'Quon Lake (7) against Pacific on December 22, 2017.

First Half:
Freshman guard, Joson Sanon, gave the Sun Devils their first points of the regular season with a three beyond the arc, trailing 8-3 to the Bengals with 16:41 remaining in the half. Senior forward, Basheer Jihad, found Shawn Phillips Jr. for an easy alley oop to bring ASU's deficit to four points, trailing 11-7 to Idaho State. With the help of a fast-break three hit by Adam Miller, the Sun Devils trailed 11-10 to the Bengals heading into the first media timeout with 13:39 remaining in the first half. 
 
Senior forward, BJ Freeman, assisted freshman guard, Amier Ali, for a wide-open three to give ASU their first lead of the night, leading 14-13 heading into the second media timeout of the half with 10:28 remaining. 
 
Senior guard, Alston Mason, was able to break free on a fast-break and took it to the rack for a contested layup, tying it up 16-16 with 7:34 remaining in the half. 
 
Alston Mason was able to knock down back-to-back treys to give the Sun Devils some momentum heading into the final media timeout of the first half, leading 22-16 over the Bengals with 3:57 remaining. 
 
BJ Freeman did it all with the start of a block and pushed it down the court for an easy layup to increase ASU's run to 11-0, leading 26-16 with 2:08 remaining in the half. Following that, BJ Freeman knocked one down outside the arc to give the Sun Devils a 29-16 lead, forcing the Bengals to take a timeout. Alston Mason blew by his man for a contested layup at the rack to close a 16-6 run completed by ASU. The Sun Devils lead 31-20 over the Bengals heading into the second half. 
 
Second Half:
Joson Sanon was able to catch-and-shoot just outside the arc to give the Sun Devils their first points of the second half, leading 34-24 over the Bengals with 17:31 remaining in regulation. 
 
A pinned block on the glass by freshman, Jayden Quaintance, led to a fast-break layup at the other end by BJ Freeman, giving the Sun Devils a 39-26 lead over the Bengals with 13:48 remaining. Idaho State was able to bring their deficit within 7, giving ASU a 41-34 lead heading into the second media timeout of the second half. 
 
A block by Alston Mason turned into a fast-break contested layup made by Austin Nunez at the other end, giving the Sun Devils a 43-34 lead with 9:33 remaining. Alston Mason was able to take it to the rack off the inbound and sunk it in for an and-1 opportunity. ASU holds onto a 45-38 lead over Idaho State heading into the third media timeout with 7:48 remaining in regulation. 
 
After the Bengals were able to complete a 8-2 run to bring their deficit within a point margin, BJ Freeman was able to sink both free throws at the line, giving the Sun Devils a 47-44 lead with 4:39 remaining in regulation. ASU holds onto the 47-44 lead over Idaho State heading into the final media timeout of regulation with 3:58 remaining. 
 
BJ Freeman found Shawn Phillips Jr. wide open under the basket for an easy two hand slam to increase the Sun Devils lead to 49-44 with 3:08 remaining. Jayden Quaintenance found himself at the line for two much needed free throws and was able to sink both of them, giving ASU a 53-46 lead with 1:01 left in regulation. With the help of two more free throws sunk by Alston Mason, the Sun Devils were able to run out the clock to gain a 55-48 win over the Bengals in their home-opener. 
 
Fewest points allowed by ASU in home opener (Since 2000)
35 – Western Illinois (Nov. 13, 2009)
41 – Cal Poly (Nov. 26, 2007)
48 – Idaho State (Nov. 5, 2024)
48 – Jackson State (Nov. 21, 2004)
49 – Central Connecticut State (Nov. 14, 2019)
50 – Chicago State (Nov. 14, 2014)
 
Up Next
Sun Devil Men's Basketball will head to Santa Clara, California to take on Santa Clara on November 8th at 6 p.m. MST. Coverage can be seen on ESPN+ 
 
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Quotables

Arizona State Head Coach Bobby Hurley
Opening Statement:
"It wasn't pretty, it wasn't inspiring really. We had a good stretch maybe at the end of the first half. I'm just very frustrated by how we came out to start the second half. I described it like it was an AAU game, how we approached it or a game that had no meaning to it. Especially in the first game you would imagine there's just a lot of juice, the guys are really amped up to play and then the last thing you would think you have to worry about is being motivated. So, myself and my staff have to do a better job to get them ready to play second half and it was just flat, we let them hang around. It's rare that you see a team shoot 25% from the field for the game and have a chance to win in the last four minutes, almost never happens that way. We had other problems too, for as good as I thought we guarded with energy at times, we didn't rebound. If that team got 16 offensive rebounds, some of our other opponents as we start hitting the harder part of our schedule, they're gonna get a million offensive rebounds in a game if that's our effort and our desire to rebound. So there's still a lot that we have to get better on, we can't be a Jekyll and Hyde team either. The first half we shot well from the field and made threes and we turned it over 10 times. Which again, if we turn it over 14 times because they're not really getting after you, like some other teams will, then that number would be doubled for playing a team that is super aggressive on defense. Just a lot of issues, both sides, and it's hard to really find any positives. By the time I'm done with this statement, you may not even have to ask me any questions. Shawn Phillips Jr., his minutes were good I thought outside of when he first got in the game. BJ Freeman, I think approached coming off the bench and handled that the right way. He hasn't come off the bench very much in his career. So I think those two guys, if I had to point out any positives, it was maybe their play."
 
On his initial reaction to how Joson Sanon played
"We all have to get more physical, we all gotta do better. Our perimeter guys were getting posted up, let's fight them for position, let's work around them, let's not allow them to throw the ball and post our guards up. So Joson Sanon was involved in all of that. He had some shots and he showed a glimpse of what he could do as far as shot making. At least without his point production, I don't think we would have won the game. For a freshman, I thought he did fine."
 
On his thoughts of Alston Mason's performance
"He did a nice job with some of his shot making and obviously the threes gave us life on offense in the first half. He's got to take care of the ball, can't turn the ball over in tough spots. So that's something that we have to work on with him."
 
Arizona State Guard Alston Mason
On playing his first home game at Desert Financial Arena
"It's good to be back in a familiar arena and it's good to have my family here. So it meant a lot more and you kind of just have to cherish these moments. This is my fourth year having the first game in college, so it meant a little bit more. I had my family here and they were able to put on ASU jerseys."
 
On figuring out team chemistry
"I think the hardest part with where we're at right now is we have so many transfers and new guys coming in. Coach is trying to fill us out and where he can incorporate us in the offense and defense. So the hardest part is the chemistry and coming together as a team. I think that's what we have to figure out more."
 
Arizona State Guard/Forward BJ Freeman 
On getting everyone on the same page
"It's kind of tough, but it's nothing that we can't get past. Coach always preaches being a good teammate doing what he wants us to do and executing the game plan and we know we've got some tough games coming up Friday and Sunday. So just going back to the drawing board and getting ready to execute whatever coach says and execute for 40 minutes, not just whenever we want to turn it on and off because if we do that, it's gonna be another long game."
 
On putting in extra effort when shots aren't falling
"Yeah, we really couldn't put the ball in the hoop. We've been having a problem with that, but everybody is trying to get our confidence all the way back and get on the same page, everything else is gonna come. Once people see shots go down and we're talking and we're diving on the floor, playing hard, everything else is gonna come