University of San Diego. Texas Southern. Two mid-to-low major schools Arizona State stumbled against in its last two seasons. On Wednesday night in Tempe, Cal Poly nearly became the third member of that group.
However, 2024’s iteration of the Sun Devils did not crumble in the same way, hanging on to win 93-89 in a shootout at Desert Financial Arena.
“Not our finest work for sure,” ASU coach Bobby Hurley said. “Our defense took a step back … overall that end of the floor hurt us … we let them get back and keep hanging around in the game.”
The first half had the appearance of a cruise to victory, but the warning signs were there. ASU’s perimeter defense, which had been strong at points in previous outings, let graduate student guard Jarred Hyder get free on numerous occasions. Hyder took advantage. The veteran went to the locker room with 14 points on four 3-pointers in the first half. He ultimately finished the game shooting 50% from the field and from 3-point range, with 27 points total.
“Hyder had a big night, obviously,” Hurley said disappointedly after the game.
Freshman guard Joson Sanon continued to be a weapon for the Sun Devils, scoring 15 in the first half. Cal Poly adjusted with more pressure when Sanon was off-ball in the second half and held him to 22 total points on the night.
“Good teams will adjust and we had a concerted effort to get him the ball,” Hurley said. “He drove it more. I think they were really crowding him knowing what he’s done the last couple of games.”
With just over a minute to play in the game, Sanon finished through contact after driving hard to the left and earned a 3-point play to put ASU up 87-82. While the Mustangs tightened things again, that play felt like it broke their spirits enough to secure victory for the Devils.
Fell for the hesitation 😏
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) November 21, 2024
Massive three-point play by @joson_sanon 🙏
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Jayden Quaintance performed well as one of ASU’s only defensive bright spots on a difficult defensive night for the Sun Devils. The freshman forward blocked four shots, all in the first half, but continued to have growing pains offensively. Wednesday night, his free throw shooting regressed as he shot 3-7 from the charity stripe.
“We have to work a little bit with [Quaintance],” Hurley said. “I thought he was rushing his free throw a little bit, so I think that’s manageable with him.”
One of Quaintance’s moments of brilliance was also the moment Hurley identified as the point he became concerned with the effort.
“[Quaintance] ran from nowhere in the first half to block a corner three in front of our bench and then the ball was bouncing around and we just don’t go get and they pick it up and score,” Hurley said. “Our shell was broken too … at times there was no recognition on help side to rotate over.”
The effort from the free-throw line for the entire team was poor, as the Sun Devils shot 27-41. It was the second game in a row that the Sun Devils shot under 70% at the line, after an impressive 85% outing against GCU.
The Sun Devils were diminished to a seven-man rotation against the Mustangs, likely affecting the perimeter defense against a crafty Cal Poly team throughout the night. The junior duo of guard Austin Nunez and center Shawn Phillips Jr. both sat with minor injuries.
“You can see when we’re able to keep more size and fresh bodies on the floor more regularly, I think we’re a better basketball team,” Hurley said.
Nunez’s absence forced senior starting point guard Alston Mason to play 36 minutes. Mason finished 14 points and five assists, punishing Cal Poly with his driving ability throughout the game.
The team was visibly worn down at points of the second half, but the Sun Devils have until Nov. 28 to prepare for the Acrisure Classic in Palm Springs. Those eight days are crucial in Hurley’s opinion.
“I don’t want to make excuses here, but we’ve played a lot of games and we’ve traveled quite a bit too … and that’s a lot for a few weeks,” Hurley said. “Physically, we could really use this next week to prepare for our holiday tournament next week.”
The offensive effort was impressive and continued a hot stretch for ASU to start the season. Out of six games, the Sun Devils have surpassed 80 points in five of them.
“We have a well-rounded team, people who do different things very very well,” redshirt senior guard Adam Miller said. “It’s okay for someone to have their night and they have their night, keep building off of that and rolling with the hot hand.”
Miller came up clutch down the stretch with a pair of 3-pointers and finished 16 points, tied for his best scoring effort of the season.
Taking over @AceWolf44 💪
— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) November 21, 2024
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The veteran guard’s point about depth is a correct one and became important on a tricky night for Hurley’s squad. All five starters for Hurley’s squad finished in double figures scoring, with Sanon adding his 22 off the bench.
The 93 points were the most for Arizona State since the Sun Devils shot the lights out in their First Four game of the 2023 NCAA Tournament against Nevada-Reno, where they scored 98 on the Wolfpack while shooting 63% from the field.
However, the defense remains a concern. The young group hasn’t shown the connectivity that Hurley’s teams of the past have. With a tougher holiday tournament on deck, the Sun Devils will need to improve on that end if they want to enter Big 12 play with a quality record and resume. But for now, Arizona State has avoided the dreaded NET quad-four loss it has suffered in past seasons.
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