TUCSON, Ariz. - The Sun Devil Men's Basketball Team – down to a six-man rotation after a first minute injury to Adam Miller – fell at Arizona 113-100 late Tuesday night to a hot-shooting Wildcat team that didn't commit a turnover in the first half. ASU cut the lead to 89-86, but a quick 6-0 spurt put Arizona up 95-86 with just under five minutes left.
The Sun Devils took a 16-15 lead seven minutes in behind Amier Ali's early six points off the bench, but Arizona shot .568 (21-of-37) from the field to lead 55-47 at the break, despite Alston Mason's 15 first-half points.
Mason had another solid outing, notching a season-high 33 points while adding six assists. He was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line and an impressive 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. It is the most points scored by a Sun Devil since Alonzo Verge had 43 against Saint Mary's on Dec. 18, 2019.
Alston Mason Top Sun Devil scoring games
33 at No. 24 Arizona (3/4/25)
26 vs No. 5 Houston (2/18/25)*
25 at Oklahoma State (2/9/25)*
19 at No. 11 Kansas (1/8/25)*
19 vs. Grand Canyon in Phoenix (11/14/24)
19 at No. 6 Gonzaga (11/10/24)
17 at Colorado (1/28/25)*
16 at No. 12 Texas Tech (2/12/25)*
15 vs. UCF (1/14/25)*
*Six of his Top-8 scoring outputs have come against Big 12 Conference competition.
ASU trailed 13-10 at the first timeout but quickly lost Adam Miller, as the senior tried to play through a hip pointer suffered against BYU but had to take a seat early.
Shawn Phillips Jr. had 14 points and 6 rebounds, while freshman Joson Sanon added 19 points of 6-of-11 shooting. Amier Ali (13 points) and Trevor Best (6 points) stepped up off the bench as the Sun Devils found themselves shorthanded early. It is the seventh time Ali has hit double digits as a sub this year.
It is the second time that Arizona State has reached the century mark offensively this season (106 at #12 Texas Tech on 2/12). This is the first time since the 2017-18 campaign that the Sun Devils have scored 100+ points twice in the same season.
Ba-Sheer force
Senior forward Basheer Jihad has been extremely effective at getting to the free throw line while also getting opposing big men in foul trouble. Jihad enterred the Arizona game third in the Big 12 in both free throw attempts (153) and made free throws (116). He now has six games in which he has attempted 10+ free throws after shooting 10 at Arizona.
To the line
Arizona State finished 26-for-31 from the line, establishing a new season-high from free throw attempts in league play. It is the 14th time they have shot 20+ free throws and 11th time they have gone over 25 free throw attempts. They now have five conference game with 25 or more chances from the line.
20+ Free throw attempts this season
11/08/24 - Santa Clara (18-27)
11/14/24 - Grand Canyon (18-21)
11/17/24 - St. Thomas (MN) (18-26)
11/20/24 - Cal Poly (27-41)
11/28/24 - New Mexico (24-32)
12/03/24 - San Diego (22-35)
1/11/25 - Baylor (15-22)
1/14/25 - UCF (17-26)
1/28/25 - Colorado (19-26)
2/04/25 - Kansas State (14-21)
2/09/25 - Oklahoma State (22-26)
2/18/25 - Houston (19-26)
2/26/25 - BYU (19-26)
—> 3/4/25 - Arizona (26-31)
80-point mark
The Sun Devils have scored 80 points or more 12 times through 29 games this season after doing it only 6 times in 32 games last year.
Success from the stripe
Over the past seven 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 130-of-166 (78.3%) from the line despite being on the road in hostile environments in five of those games. The backcourt of Alston Mason and Joson Sanon have combined to go 51-of-63 (81.0%) from the stripe during that span. Mason has made his last 41 of his past 43 free throws dating back to the Iowa State game. Amier Ali is shooting 88.2% (30-of-34) at the line in Big 12 games and is 15-for-16 in the last eight games. Mason is on pace to finish with one of the Top-10 seasons in program history from the stripe.
Single-season Free throw percentage
89.7 – DJ Horne, 2022 (35-39)
87.7 – Bryson Krueger, 2006
87.5 – Rihards Kuksiks, 2010
87.5 – Chris Beasley, 1984
87.4 – Stevin Smith, 1992
86.3 – Derek Glasser, 2010
86.3 – Alex Austin, 1989
85.9 – James Holliman, 1977
85.3 - Alston Mason, 2025 (87-102)
85.3 – Shannon Evans II, 2018
84.1 – Derek Glasser, 2008
84.0 – Isaac Burton, 1994
84.0 – Rick Taylor, 1978
Up next
Arizona State returns to Desert Financial Arena for their final home game of the season. They take on Texas Tech on Saturday at 6 PM MST. Make sure to arrive early, as the program will honor five players and five seniors in a pre-game ceremony. Adam MIller, Alston Mason, Basheer Jihad, Jordan Williams, Connor Braun will be celebrated for their contributions to the program. The game will be broadcasted on ESPNU and available on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM (KMVP).
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).
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