Basheer Jihad leads ASU men’s basketball to near-upset in loss at Gonzaga

ASU men’s basketball has taken steps forward in each of its first three games to start the season, nearly upsetting No. 6 Gonzaga in its home opener 88-80 on Sunday.

Forward Basheer Jihad led the way for the Sun Devils with 22 points and 10 rebounds, both of which were his most as a Sun Devil since transferring from Ball State. He had seven of the team’s 11 free throws.

He’s taking over 💪@basheerjihad11 up to 1️⃣8️⃣ points after this ➕1️⃣

📺 @ESPN pic.twitter.com/9jfRFKbrD6

— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) November 10, 2024

ASU’s experienced transfers made an impact in the hostile environment known as the Kennel, as Jihad, Alston Mason (19 points) and BJ Freeman (12 points) were the three Sun Devils in double figures.

It was a back-and-forth affair as each game has been so far, as neither the Sun Devils nor Bulldogs were able to get a double-digit lead at any point, with ASU’s 7-1 start representing its biggest lead.

However, Jihad had a costly and unforced giveaway when the Sun Devils were down two with four minutes left. Gonzaga responded with a 7-3 run to take a six-point lead with 1:51 remaining, which was enough to seal the win.

Gonzaga’s Braden Huff (21 points) and Khalif Battle (19 points) contributed five of the seven points in the clutch run, with additional points down the stretch to clinch the win for the top-10 squad, which was just coming off a 101-63 win over No. 8 Baylor.

ASU (2-1) next plays on Thursday at Footprint Center in a cross-Valley matchup with Grand Canyon University (2-0) at 7 p.m. MST. National player of the year hopeful Tyon Grant-Foster is expected to make his season debut for the ‘Lopes.