TEMPE - Sun Devil Men's Basketball (12-9, 3-7) made their return to the Valley to take on in-state rival Arizona (15-6, 9-1) at Desert Financial Arena in the first of two meetings this season.
The two sides gave State 48 residents a highly entertaining Saturday afternoon in a closely contest duel from wire-to-wire. The largest lead for either team never eclipsed double digits, keeping each possession equally important and intense.
Arizona State stepped up to match Arizona's offense firepower, building as much as a five-point lead in the opening stages of the second half. BJ Freeman and Adam Miller fueled the efforts on the offensive side of things, keeping ASU right in the thick of it. The performances of the two seniors turned out to not be enough as the Sun Devils fell short, falling 81-72.
BJ BUCKETS
BJ Freeman led the charge on a huge momentum swing where the senior forward went on a solo 9-0 run, giving ASU the lead by way of an and-one and two three-point field goals between 9:32-7:53 of the first half. This was Freeman's 80th career NCAA game between his time at Milwaukee and Arizona State. He finished the game with a team high 19 points in addition to four three-point field goals. This was the sixth game of the season for Freeman where he recorded 15+ points.
ACE WOLF
Senior guard Adam Miller was excellent from beyond the arc, shooting a game-high 60% from deep finishing 3-of-5. Miller has been hot offensively throughout his last four games, averaging 14.3 points on 50% from the field, (20-40) and 54% from three (12-22).
First Half:
The bitter rivals went toe-to-toe on the defensive end of things, nearly going three scoreless minutes to open things up. It was senior forward Basheer Jihad who knocked down a corner 3-pointer to break open the scoring and send the Desert Financial Arena crowd into an early frenzy to give ASU the 3-0 advantage.
Arizona landed their counter punches in a rather low scoring start to the game and pushed forward, 4-3. ASU jumped right back ahead by way of the 3-ball courtesy of BJ Freeman, getting his first points of the afternoon. The sides continued doing battle, where it was freshman Joson Sanon who showcased his smooth jumper, nailing a mid-range chance for his first points to answer back for ASU bringing things to 13-9, advantage Arizona.
BJ Freeman pushed the floor for the maroon and gold, finishing a contested layup and getting the and-one opportunity, where he knocked down the free-throw and secured the three-point play. The senior forward was absolutely scorching, knocking down consecutive three-pointers to pour in the last nine straight points for ASU, giving them the 18-17 lead on an individual 9-0 run.
The three-ball remained the theme for ASU as Adam Miller got on the board with his first triple to put his squad ahead, 21-19. The Sun Devils were later awarded free-throws due to an Arizona technical foul where Miller knocked them both down to push ASU ahead 25-23.
The freshman phenoms led a Sun Devil surge, where Joson Sanon and Jayden Quaintance hit consecutive mid-range jumpers continuing the back and forth affair with ASU ahead 29-25. The first half later closed with an Arizona three-pointer immediately countered by a nifty left-handed layup by Basheer Jihad, closing the first half out with the Wildcats leading 35-34.
Second Half:
The Sun Devils landed the first big swing of the second half thanks to an Adam Miller corner three, immediately followed by a Basheer Jihad slam dunk to give ASU the four-point lead, 39-35. Jihad caught fire of his own after the dunk, splashing down a three with another slam dunk for a game high 14 points and the last seven for the Sun Devils. Jihad's tear catapulted ASU to a 44-39 lead forcing Arizona to burn a timeout. Following the timeout the Wildcats banged home a quick three of their own, but were instantly matched by an Alston Mason triple for his first points of the tilt.
The Wildcats began a 6-0 run of their own that was interrupted by an Adam Miller mid-range jumper for points number 12 and 13 of the afternoon for him. Both offenses began to really catch fire as Joson Sanon made his presence felt, splashing down a crucial three-pointer to put ASU back within two, 54-52 with 14:10 to go.
The long ball once again took charge for ASU, where they enjoyed back-to-back triples courtesy of Alston Mason and Joson Sanon to keep things a one possession game, 58-57, Arizona. The Wildcats answered quickly but Adam Miller and the Sun Devils went right back at them with yet another three-pointer, knotting things up at 60-60.
Jayden Quaintance left his stamp on this one with a vicious highlight reel slam dunk, soaring above the wildcat defender and sending the home crowd into utter chaos while bringing the contest to 62-62. Arizona took control of the middle moments, going on a 6-0 run and a 68-62 lead. The Sun Devils finally pushed through with a BJ Freeman three, cutting the lead back to three points right before the media timeout.
Following the pause in the action, Jayden Quaintance drilled a pair of free-throws to once again bring ASU back within three, 70-67. With the contest heading into its final minutes, BJ Freeman's fourth three-pointer kept ASU in it, bringing the score to 76-72 Arizona, with just 2:17 left to play. The Sun Devils were unable to find any late game offense during crunch time and fell short, 81-72
Up Next
Arizona State will remain on its home floor as they welcome Kansas State for a Tuesday evening showdown at Desert Financial Arena with tip-off slated for 8 PM AZT.
Sun Devils on Social
For exclusive content, the latest updates, and more information on the Sun Devil Men's Basketball program, follow our X/Instagram accounts (@SunDevilHoops), like our Facebook page (facebook.com/SunDevilHoops/), and visit our website (thesundevils.com). Follow Coach Hurley on X (@BobbyHurley11).
The two sides gave State 48 residents a highly entertaining Saturday afternoon in a closely contest duel from wire-to-wire. The largest lead for either team never eclipsed double digits, keeping each possession equally important and intense.
Arizona State stepped up to match Arizona's offense firepower, building as much as a five-point lead in the opening stages of the second half. BJ Freeman and Adam Miller fueled the efforts on the offensive side of things, keeping ASU right in the thick of it. The performances of the two seniors turned out to not be enough as the Sun Devils fell short, falling 81-72.
BJ BUCKETS
BJ Freeman led the charge on a huge momentum swing where the senior forward went on a solo 9-0 run, giving ASU the lead by way of an and-one and two three-point field goals between 9:32-7:53 of the first half. This was Freeman's 80th career NCAA game between his time at Milwaukee and Arizona State. He finished the game with a team high 19 points in addition to four three-point field goals. This was the sixth game of the season for Freeman where he recorded 15+ points.
ACE WOLF
Senior guard Adam Miller was excellent from beyond the arc, shooting a game-high 60% from deep finishing 3-of-5. Miller has been hot offensively throughout his last four games, averaging 14.3 points on 50% from the field, (20-40) and 54% from three (12-22).
First Half:
The bitter rivals went toe-to-toe on the defensive end of things, nearly going three scoreless minutes to open things up. It was senior forward Basheer Jihad who knocked down a corner 3-pointer to break open the scoring and send the Desert Financial Arena crowd into an early frenzy to give ASU the 3-0 advantage.
Arizona landed their counter punches in a rather low scoring start to the game and pushed forward, 4-3. ASU jumped right back ahead by way of the 3-ball courtesy of BJ Freeman, getting his first points of the afternoon. The sides continued doing battle, where it was freshman Joson Sanon who showcased his smooth jumper, nailing a mid-range chance for his first points to answer back for ASU bringing things to 13-9, advantage Arizona.
BJ Freeman pushed the floor for the maroon and gold, finishing a contested layup and getting the and-one opportunity, where he knocked down the free-throw and secured the three-point play. The senior forward was absolutely scorching, knocking down consecutive three-pointers to pour in the last nine straight points for ASU, giving them the 18-17 lead on an individual 9-0 run.
The three-ball remained the theme for ASU as Adam Miller got on the board with his first triple to put his squad ahead, 21-19. The Sun Devils were later awarded free-throws due to an Arizona technical foul where Miller knocked them both down to push ASU ahead 25-23.
The freshman phenoms led a Sun Devil surge, where Joson Sanon and Jayden Quaintance hit consecutive mid-range jumpers continuing the back and forth affair with ASU ahead 29-25. The first half later closed with an Arizona three-pointer immediately countered by a nifty left-handed layup by Basheer Jihad, closing the first half out with the Wildcats leading 35-34.
Second Half:
The Sun Devils landed the first big swing of the second half thanks to an Adam Miller corner three, immediately followed by a Basheer Jihad slam dunk to give ASU the four-point lead, 39-35. Jihad caught fire of his own after the dunk, splashing down a three with another slam dunk for a game high 14 points and the last seven for the Sun Devils. Jihad's tear catapulted ASU to a 44-39 lead forcing Arizona to burn a timeout. Following the timeout the Wildcats banged home a quick three of their own, but were instantly matched by an Alston Mason triple for his first points of the tilt.
The Wildcats began a 6-0 run of their own that was interrupted by an Adam Miller mid-range jumper for points number 12 and 13 of the afternoon for him. Both offenses began to really catch fire as Joson Sanon made his presence felt, splashing down a crucial three-pointer to put ASU back within two, 54-52 with 14:10 to go.
The long ball once again took charge for ASU, where they enjoyed back-to-back triples courtesy of Alston Mason and Joson Sanon to keep things a one possession game, 58-57, Arizona. The Wildcats answered quickly but Adam Miller and the Sun Devils went right back at them with yet another three-pointer, knotting things up at 60-60.
Jayden Quaintance left his stamp on this one with a vicious highlight reel slam dunk, soaring above the wildcat defender and sending the home crowd into utter chaos while bringing the contest to 62-62. Arizona took control of the middle moments, going on a 6-0 run and a 68-62 lead. The Sun Devils finally pushed through with a BJ Freeman three, cutting the lead back to three points right before the media timeout.
Following the pause in the action, Jayden Quaintance drilled a pair of free-throws to once again bring ASU back within three, 70-67. With the contest heading into its final minutes, BJ Freeman's fourth three-pointer kept ASU in it, bringing the score to 76-72 Arizona, with just 2:17 left to play. The Sun Devils were unable to find any late game offense during crunch time and fell short, 81-72
Up Next
Arizona State will remain on its home floor as they welcome Kansas State for a Tuesday evening showdown at Desert Financial Arena with tip-off slated for 8 PM AZT.
Sun Devils on Social
For exclusive content, the latest updates, and more information on the Sun Devil Men's Basketball program, follow our X/Instagram accounts (@SunDevilHoops), like our Facebook page (facebook.com/SunDevilHoops/), and visit our website (thesundevils.com). Follow Coach Hurley on X (@BobbyHurley11).