ASU’s Joson Sanon a big part of keeping GCU’s Tyon Grant-Foster at bay

PHOENIX — ASU men’s basketball made things tough on GCU star wing Tyon Grant-Foster in his first game back, and head coach Bobby Hurley said freshman guard Joson Sanon was a catalyst behind it.

“We did, the guards did, Jo was a part of that. We had multiple guys on him at different times,” Hurley said after the Sun Devils beat the ‘Lopes, 87-76, on Thursday. “He’s very good attacking the basket. We wanted him to be more of a contested jump shooter. We talked about getting into gaps, so he didn’t see big driving lanes because he’s a very dynamic, very explosive player.

“We tried to do the best job we could at just keeping him in front and trying to contest his shots.”

It took Grant-Foster nearly 15 minutes of game time before he made his first field goal, and he finished with 19 points on 5 of 17 shooting with 8 of 12 on free throws.

“It was definitely a little rust from his end, and I think that carried out through our team. There was a little ‘getting used to each other again’ type of feeling,” GCU coach Bryce Drew said postgame. “Anytime you have a guy that plays 36 minutes that hasn’t played since last March against Alabama in a real game, to step into a game like this, it’s a lot on him and a lot on our team.”

Even as things took a while to click on offense for Grant-Foster, his defense showed up with a block and four steals, all in the first half.

“First half, he was really good. He was so active, coming from the weakside to block shots. Got his hands on balls, got steals, got us out in transition,” Drew said. “Thought he was terrific.”

Sanon excelled with a career night offensively too, knocking down five 3s en route to a game-high 21 points.

“It felt like I was watching him in an (AAU) gym back in April,” Hurley said. “Jo was just playing with the ultimate confidence, and he’s such a gifted kid, and when he gets in a zone like that, he’s virtually unstoppable.

“We were trying to get him the ball as soon as he was in the game because he had that look.”

ASU, GCU coaches impressed by neutral Footprint Center atmosphere

The two teams squared off in what was close to a truly neutral site, with GCU getting the majority of 13,705 in attendance at Footprint Center.

“It was a really fun game to be a part of. I think it’s great for the city, for the state of Arizona to see two teams of that caliber just go at each other,” Hurley said. “Thought it was quality basketball.”

“This one definitely had a lot of energy in the building, especially earlier in the year,” Drew said. “(With) Tyon coming back, I think it was just a lot of great energy on both ends to start the season. That environment is better than an NCAA tournament game.”

Hurley said GCU has arrived as a legitimate threat in college basketball at this point, and they’re built to have a good season.

It was the third time the two Valley teams have played since GCU (2-1) made the jump to Division 1 in 2013, and the Sun Devils (3-1) have gotten the better of the ‘Lopes each time, with this being the first double-digit victory.

“We could certainly negotiate and talk about that,” Hurley said of potential future meetings between the cross-Valley rivals.