Sun Devil MBB Drops Battle with TCU

TEMPE – Sun Devil Men's Basketball returned to Tempe after being on the road for two-straight games to take on TCU at Desert Financial Arena
 
Arizona State (12-13, 3-11) fell short in the end to TCU (14-11, 7-7), losing 74-70. The Sun Devils continued to fight while being down for the majority of the game and managed to tie it up at 67-67 with 43 seconds left. BJ Freeman was a key component on keeping ASU alive, as he finished the night with 21 points, while shooting 50% from the field. 
 
Three other Sun Devils finished the night with double figures, with Alston Mason finishing with a near double-double. He found the net for 12 points while dishing out nine assists. Shawn Phillips Jr. was a main factor in the paint tonight, finishing with 12 points. He was also a protector in the paint with Jayden Quaintance's absence, cleaning the glass for eight boards and keeping the rim safe with three blocks. Big man Basheer Jihad was busy all over the paint, knocking down 4-of-9 from the field to finish with 11 points and four boards. 
 
Arizona State remains in Tempe for back-to-back home games to host No. 6 Houston on Tuesday night.

Sharing the Rock
For the second-straight game, Arizona State has dished out 15 assists. This marks the twelfth time the Sun Devils have recorded 15 or more assists in a game this season. Alston Mason finished the night with a staggering nine assists this season, marking the most assists dished out by a Sun Devil this season. 
 
Free'd Up
An underrated part of Arizona State's success has been the steady play of senior guard/forward BJ Freeman. He once again scored in double figures against TCU, leading the team with 21. Freeman has finished with 10+ points in 15 games this season, the most of any Sun Devil. It was his fourth 20-point game as a Sun Devil and 34th in his career, previously doing it 30 times at UW Milwaukee over two seasons.
 
From the Stripe
Over the past two games, Arizona State's ability to knock down shots from the free throw line has been a bright spot. The Sun Devils are a combined 46-of-56 (82.1%) from the line despite being on the road in hostile environments. The backcourt of Alston Mason and Joson Sanon have combined to go 20-of-21 (95%) from the charity stripe. 
 
Most Steals this Season
12 - Oklahoma State (2/9/25)
11 - Texas Tech (2/12/25)
10 - BYU (12/31/24)
9 - TCU (2/15/25)
9 - Cal Poly (11/20/24)
 
First Half:
BJ Freeman got the Sun Devils on the board first with a treyball. Basheer Jihad got busy early, scoring three back-to-back buckets to give Arizona State a 9-7 lead over TCU. The Sun Devils trailed 15-9 to the Horned Frogs heading into the first media timeout of regulation. 
 
Shawn Phillips got his defender to fall for the pump fake and got an easy two at the rim, bringing Arizona State's deficit to within eight. The Sun Devils continued to fight on the defensive end with numerous stops. ASU trailed 27-20 to TCU with 7:50 remaining in the first half. 
 
Adam Miller snuck one past two defenders to BJ Freeman for a corner catch-and-shoot three to bring the Sun Devils deficit within seven with 1:21 left to play in the half. Alston Mason cut through multiple defenders and managed to take it all the way to the rack for a contested layup. Arizona State headed into halftime trailing 38-31 to TCU, hoping to find their rhythm to close out regulation. 
 
Second Half:
BJ Freeman opened the second half kissing a floater off the glass to get the Sun Devils rolling. Alston Mason found Shawn Phillips on the pick-and-roll action for a two-hand alley-oop, leaving Arizona State trailing 46-39 with 15:13 remaining in regulation. 
 
The Sun Devils trailed 57-46 to the Horned Frogs with 10:43 remaining, hoping to find some momentum heading into the final 10 minutes of gameplay. Alston Mason got fancy and dished a no-look pass to Basheer Jihad under the basket for an easy slam, bringing Arizona State's deficit within nine. 
 
Basheer returned the alley-oop favor and found Shawn Phillips on the roll for an alley-oop, leaving the Sun Devils trailing 61-52 with 6:24 left on the game clock. BJ Freeman and Amier Ali knocked down back-to-back threes in the corner to bring their deficit within three. With the help of a 6-0 scoring run by the Sun Devils, the Horned Frogs were forced to call a timeout with 3:57 remaining. 
 
Shawn Phillips got physical in the paint and was able to slam it down over his defender for a crucial two points with a minute left, trailing 67-64. BJ Freeman nailed one while being contested in the corner to tie the ball game up 67-67 with 36 seconds remaining. Arizona State continued to fight til the buzzer but fell short 74-70 to TCU in the end. 

Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley 
Opening Statement: 
"What do you want me to say at this point is some of the comments I got from my players. They're frustrated that we haven't been able to close games out. We're all at premium frustration at this point in the season."
 
On Alston Mason's resilience:
"He's built to play long minutes into the game. His physical conditioning and efficiency when he moves with the ball and plays with a burning passion to be the best possible version of himself." 
 
On Jayden Quaintance rehab:
"JQ is as good as anybody in being diligent about the treatment and doing whatever he can to get back to suiting up, and starting this week we'll see how he progresses and decide when he makes it back." 
 
On coaching Adam Miller: 
"There's no other guy I love to coach than Adam Miller. He gives his heart and soul at both ends of the floor. He's been a standout player for the program and a terrific guy for me to coach these past two seasons." 
 
Senior Guard BJ Freeman 
On the his and the team's confidence level:
"My confidence is still exactly where it's supposed to be. I'm pretty sure everybody is too. I'm motivating everybody in there to say we still got a tournament, and we still got 6 games left in the season. A lot can change, especially in the Big 12 with this tough conference. We have to take it day by day, pray about it, be strong, be your brother's keeper, and just move on to the next game and try to win."
 
On if his performances gives the team confidence:
"I'm just trying to win, just trying to go with the flow and just try to do anything to help this team and our coach get a win and get some stress off his back."
 
On his message to ASU fans:
"We're still here. Don't give up on us yet. We still got 6 games and we got a tournament. You guys are going to get a different change of basketball starting Tuesday, and I can promise you that."
 
Up Next
Sun Devil Men's Basketball will be staying in the valley to host Houston at Desert Financial Arena on February 18th at 7:00 p.m. MST. Coverage can be seen on ESPN2 and heard on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM (KMVP).
 
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