Utah runs away with blowout win over ASU despite career day from Joson Sanon

After hitting the paint hard early, Utah broke away from a tired ASU in the second half on Saturday, handing the Sun Devils a 99-73 loss.

The Utes scored 35 of their 41 first-half points in the paint or at the free throw line to set the tone. Jayden Quaintance’s absence (right knee) was felt very tangibly on that front, especially when considering ASU shot 10-for-21 inside for the game compared to Utah’s 21-for-28.

Utah lit it up from 3 in the second half (8-for-14) and Shawn Phillips Jr. picked up his fifth and final foul as the Sun Devils’ only true big when trailing 73-61 with 7:13 left, which was the nail in the coffin.

Fatigue started to show in the second half as a result of a six-man rotation, as Utah broke away with a 13-0 run that left ASU down 15 with seven minutes left before closing on a 20-6 run.

ASU (13-16, 4-14) scored just 12 points over the final 11:38, including 10 straight misses, as its shooting percentage plummeted from 56.7% (58.3% from 3) in the first half to 29% (20% from 3) in the second.

Despite Adam Miller telling reporters postgame on Wednesday he was looking forward to guarding Utah leading scorer Gabe Madsen, the senior guard was inactive due to injury (hip pointer) for the first time this season. He was considered a game-time decision.

Basheer Jihad’s availability was also uncertain to begin the day, as he missed morning shootaround (illness) before starting and fouling out with 3:58 left. He had 16 points in 31 minutes.

Utah (16-13, 8-10) was paced by Ezra Ausar’s 25 points, including 11 free-throw makes compared to ASU’s 13 makes as a team. Brady Smith, the son of recently fired head coach Craig Smith, scored in the final seconds.

ASU’s Joson Sanon notches new career high in short order

Freshman guard Joson Sanon found his scoring touch in the first half, pouring in four 3s for 20 points before finishing with a game-high 28 points.

Bobby Hurley has called Sanon the best shooter he’s ever coached, and as he demonstrated an apathy for Utah defenders in the opening 20 minutes, he looked the part. He surpassed his previous career high of 22 points (Nov. 20 vs. Cal Poly) on a finish through contact with 11:50 left.

Sanon, a former top-25 recruit, has largely struggled through Big 12 play after suffering a high ankle sprain in the conference opener at BYU on Dec. 31.

He first returned to his regular minutes 25 days later against Iowa State but had just one double-digit outing since then prior to posting 18- and 28-point games back-to-back.

ASU will next travel to Tucson for a meeting with Arizona on Tuesday at 9 p.m. MST.

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