Shorthanded ASU basketball survives nail-biter on the road at Colorado
Jan 28, 2025, 9:28 PM | Updated: 10:40 pm
ASU basketball earned a tough 70-68 victory at Colorado while battling key injuries in the starting lineup on Tuesday night.
The Sun Devils (12-8, 3-6) entered Tuesday’s game without freshman big man Jayden Quaintance due to an ankle sprain. Starting forward BJ Freeman went to the locker room in the first half and did not return after four minutes played.
ASU ran with a six-man rotation for most of the game against a team that played nine players at least eight minutes. Guards Adam Miller and Alston Mason played 39 minutes each and led the team with 18 and 17 points, respectively.
Colorado (9-11, 0-9) tied the game at 64-64 with just under two minutes left after a poster dunk by Bangot Dak and tough bank shot from Sebastian Rancik.
ASU jumped ahead by three as Basheer Jihad pumped and finished in the line through contact, knocking down the free throw for the and-one. That turned out to be the last field goal made in the game.
The Veteran 😏@basheerjihad11 with the MASSIVE ✌️➕1⃣
📺 @ESPNPlus
🔗 https://t.co/uyVCDJgbe2 pic.twitter.com/jOyQj60OeS— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) January 29, 2025
Rancik drew a foul on a 3-point shot with 16 seconds left and made two of the three free throws to keep ASU ahead by one.
To add to the drama, Miller was called for a travel while trying to escape a trap and taking a shot to the midsection, gifting Colorado a shot to win the game.
Shawn Phillips Jr. came up with a monster block for the Sun Devils on the defensive end, and Rancik missed a potential game-winning triple with two seconds left.
Phillips finished the game with 13 points, nine rebounds and two blocks in 28 minutes.
HUGE BLOCK by @shawnphillipsj1
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🔗 https://t.co/uyVCDJgbe2 pic.twitter.com/tVjJnYGXUE— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) January 29, 2025
The Sun Devils took a 33-26 lead into halftime on Tuesday and led by as many as 10 early in the second half.
Miller led with eight points at the break, including this transition slam off a steal:
Read that one like a book @AceWolf44 👀🔨
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🔗 https://t.co/uyVCDJgbe2 pic.twitter.com/fuR2bCCDFd— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) January 29, 2025
The Buffaloes went on a 15-5 run at that point, kicking off a back-and-forth ballgame the rest of the way with neither side building a lead greater than five.
ASU closed out its second win of the last three games, which include a victory over West Virginia and loss to No. 3 Iowa State.
ASU basketball’s next game
The Sun Devils return home for their first matchup this season against the rival Arizona Wildcats on Saturday in Tempe.