ASU defense silences No. 23 West Virginia for key stretches of road win

ASU’s defense held No. 23 West Virginia without a bucket for the first seven minutes of the second half and withstood a late surge for a 65-57 road win, its first true road win of the season to snap a four-game losing streak.

BJ Freeman, who was questionable to begin the day (bone bruise), did an excellent job to contain Javon Small, the Big 12’s leading scorer, and keep him without a field goal for the first 31 minutes of the game.

Freeman didn’t have a perfect game, however, not-so-subtly elbowing a Mountaineer while walking back to his bench at a timeout and getting called for a technical foul early in the second half. The miscue halted Arizona State’s momentum it earned off a 13-1 start to the half.

What once was a 13-point lead became single digits after five free throws over the next seven seconds of game time, and the Mountaineers had started their comeback effort.

Big man Eduardo Andre keyed a 6-2 run by himself to start a back-and-forth stretch as West Virginia cut the gap to four with 2:32 left.

Jayden Quaintance (15 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks on the game) and Freeman (14 points, eight rebounds) sealed the deal down the stretch by extending the gap enough to enact a free throw battle.

Small finished with 14 points on 2-for-11 from the field and 10-for-11 at the line, below his 19.8-point average, to lead the Mountaineers.

A program record for the freshman

Quaintance came into the game as the only player in the country averaging at least eight points, nine rebounds and three blocks per game. He also leads the nation in blocks per game at 3.18.

Now, his name sits in the program record books after his second block put him ahead of Mario Bennett’s freshman record (55 in 1991-92) at 57. The Big 12 freshman record is 111 blocks, held by former Texas center Mo Bamba (2017-18)

HISTORY. MADE.@qjayhoops now has 5️⃣6️⃣ blocks, the most by a @SunDevilHoops freshman in a single season 😈

📺 @CBSSportsNet
🔗 https://t.co/6Zb9K1wvDo pic.twitter.com/eIRKeovnkU

— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) January 22, 2025

The 17-year-old big man has notched three straight games of at least 15 points after only one prior. He also has at least three offensive rebounds in 13 of the last 14 games and on Tuesday, helping ASU outrebound West Virginia, 46-28.

One problem solved and one problem withstanding from ASU’s first half

ASU had nine turnovers in the first half to West Virginia’s two leading to 19 WVU points, including nine on the fast break to none for ASU. The Mountaineers struggled to get good looks in the half court, however.

Coach Bobby Hurley said the live-ball turnovers was an area of emphasis going into the game because of how that battle went in Saturday’s loss at Cincinnati.

“We showed the guys a number of pick-sixes we had in that game, the live-ball turnovers that ended up as layups or dunks at the other end,” Hurley told Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta on Tuesday morning. “If we would’ve eliminated those, I think we would’ve had a really good chance to win at Cincinnati.”

While the turnovers remained an issue on Tuesday night, starting slow — as ASU has through much of conference play — was not, as it opened with a 10-2 run in a hostile environment.

The two teams would trade haymakers the rest of the half with WVU responding with a 15-1 run and Arizona State following with a 13-5 return, the final 10 points of which came from senior guard Adam Miller.

Midseason acquisition Trevor Best made his team debut after being with the team for about a week, appearing to feel his way out through his first three collegiate minutes without registering a stat.

ASU (11-7, 2-5) next hosts No. 3 Iowa State (16-2, 6-1), which on Tuesday beat UCF 108-83, on Saturday at 12 p.m. MST. Catch the action on 98.7, the Arizona Sports app or online.