ASU BASKETBALL

ASU stands tall in loss to No. 3 Iowa State but falls short of notching signature win

Jan 25, 2025, 2:17 PM | Updated: Jan 26, 2025, 9:37 am

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Iowa State guard Curtis Jones defended by ASU guard Adam Miller. (Jeremy Schnell/Arizona Sports)

(Jeremy Schnell/Arizona Sports)

TEMPE — ASU men’s basketball nearly added a signature win to its resume on Saturday, but it lost 76-61 after a late surge by No. 3 Iowa State at Desert Financial Arena.

“We’re starting to figure some things out, but ultimately you’ve gotta win. There’s no moral victories,” Sun Devils coach Bobby Hurley said postgame.

The 10th-year program leader pointed out the team’s previous three losses (Cincinnati, UCF, Baylor) all coming in competitive fashion before this one against national-contending ISU.

Curtis Jones willed Iowa State across the finish line without much help on the offensive end, scoring a career-high 33 points on 22 shots. The rest of the Cyclones were 12-for-26.

“He was playing like a different game than everybody else was today,” Hurley said of Jones. “But not only his offense, like he was face-guarding us, denying us on defense, picking up full court. He played a complete game.”

After the Sun Devils had built a 40-33 halftime lead, Iowa State opened the second half with six straight points. ASU held onto its lead until the Cyclones tied the game at 50 with 12:13 remaining.

That was well before Jayden Quaintance, who played through an injury sustained in practice and will undergo a “thorough evaluation,” fouled out in the first minute of a 19-3 run that saw the Cyclones turn a one-point deficit into a 15-point victory.

Fellow freshman Joson Sanon would later also foul out and finish with eight points on 3-for-6 shooting in 25 minutes as he made his return from a high ankle sprain.

Following a timeout during the late surge, chants of “I-S-U” rang throughout ASU’s home arena with the final in sight. The ASU students’ response? “Where’s your trophy?”

With Iowa State in town, the Arizona State football players were on hand, not missing the chance to rub in their Big 12 Championship trophy — won over the Cyclones on Dec. 7.

Defensive lineman Justin Wodtly brought the Sun Devils’ trophy over to where the Cyclones fans were stationed following the battling chants, showing it off one last time for good measure.

Jones said postgame seeing how the football team flaunted the trophy and gave him some added juice in the game.

As for the Curtain of Distraction brought out for the second half, defensive tackle Jacob Rich Kongaika and running back Raleek Brown served as the distraction, bringing the trophy with them.

Hurley said the atmosphere felt like a “home-neutral” environment and later propped up the football team for what it has meant to the athletic department.

ASU’s transition defense takes a step forward

After ASU gave up 28 points off 15 turnovers to West Virginia, 17 points off 14 turnovers to Cincinnati and 16 points off 14 turnovers to UCF, it had a tall task matching up against the Big 12’s leader in turnovers forced per game (15.61).

“It starts (with) just building your transition, getting back quickly and getting matched up fast regardless of what happens on offense. Making sure we’re identifying the threats right away, they can score in transition,” Hurley said on Friday before the game. “We gotta help and we gotta get back and we gotta do it all.”

ASU was much better with its transition defense in the first half, allowing only three points off seven turnovers.

Shawn Phillips Jr. had the team’s best moment in transition defense with a block to prevent a buzzer-beater to end the half, allowing the Sun Devils to enter the locker room with their longest lead of the game to that point. He finished with a career-high four blocks.

Hurley called him a “bright spot in the darkness” and was complimentary of the big man’s attitude throughout the day.

“He took a big step today. Hopefully, we keep taking steps with Shawn, because he’s got great upside if he just stays focused and we keep him going in the right direction,” the coach said.

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