Freshman stars shine again as ASU men’s basketball blows out San Diego

TEMPE — After not quite finding it in a 90-53 win over San Diego at Desert Financial Arena, ASU men’s basketball is still searching for consistency over a complete game.

Tuesday marked the largest margin of victory so far this season for the Sun Devils, who have made a habit of starting slow offensively. The answer to why seems to reveal itself when freshman guard Joson Sanon emerges from the bench, as he has in each of the past six games.

“I know people get hung up with that, but he’s basically a starter. He’s gonna play 30-plus minutes. He was in the game tonight within two-and-a-half minutes or so, that’s gonna be the norm,” coach Bobby Hurley said postgame. “I need him in the game, so he’s gonna be in the game a lot.”

The freshman said postgame the bench look, which he is unaccustomed to as a star scorer for most of his life, gives him a look at the flow of the game and helps him to not make the same mistakes the starters may have made early on.

Sanon knocked down his team’s first two made 3s of the game during a 32-12 run that helped give ASU a 40-33 halftime lead. He hit two more before the half was over, including a heat check from NBA range on the left wing.

Heated up in no time 🔥@joson_sanon /// @TheSunDevils pic.twitter.com/oB9yZtqJbo

— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) December 4, 2024

Sanon wasn’t the instant fix that he has been on some nights, but the visible difference between the offense with and without him becomes more apparent as he continues to improve with each passing game.

Plus, he’s offering enough effort defensively to be a real difference maker, putting forth one of ASU’s best moments of the first half when he skied for a block.

“I focus on defense first, and my offense comes later,” Sanon said. “That’s one thing I did good in high school, I would get them chase-down blocks here and there.”

Fellow freshman Jayden Quaintance (three blocks and one steal in the first half) was a catalyst in keeping the San Diego offense down during the run. Kjay Bradley Jr. was the only San Diego scorer during the stretch. He finished with a team-high 15 points.

With the cobwebs of the slow start brushed away, ASU kept up its offensive cohesion in the second half as Quaintance kept the blocks coming and Sanon kept the 3s coming, keying an 18-3 run to take a commanding 25-point lead.

It’s only a matter of time before teams stray away from Quaintance’s paint, but for now he continues to feast with five blocks on the night. He even made a block after getting up off the floor.

WE. HAVE. NO. WORDS. 🤯@qjayhoops /// @TheSunDevils

📺 @ESPNPlus
🔗 https://t.co/hEnItSOBI1 pic.twitter.com/LHErT0eDch

— Sun Devil MBB (@SunDevilHoops) December 4, 2024

“I mean I don’t know where JQ came from to block that,” Hurley said. “When you have someone on your team that can do stuff like that, it demoralizes your opponent a little bit and intimidates your opponent. That’s why he’s special.”

Sanon finished with 19 points (5-for-8 on 3s).

How slow was ASU’s start vs. San Diego?

ASU’s offense bordered on horrendous during a 1-for-10 shooting start with just three points over the game’s first eight minutes.

“I didn’t do a good job getting us ready to play for this game. We just didn’t come out right at all, just a little bit flat and didn’t have the edge we needed,” Hurley said postgame. “I think I understand why it happened, so I think I’ll be able to make some adjustments in terms of the days leading into a game like this.”

The coach explained he thought practices on Sunday and Monday were too light, which “won’t happen again.”

The Sun Devils created some decent looks, but they were too bogged down by careless mistakes such as flubbed no-look passes or missed bunnies from close range.

The slow start left ASU in a 15-5 hole, and following a blocking call that Bobby Hurley showed displeasure with, the head coach received his second technical foul of the season (first came in the win over New Mexico).

Following the ensuing made free throws by San Diego’s Tony Duckett, ASU trailed 17-5 with 12:45 left in the half. From there, it was all ASU.

Basheer Jihad said postgame the team got a little extra juice from the technical, which he didn’t understand in the first place because it sounded more like a play call than any frustration.

ASU (8-1) is off until a Dec. 14 matchup with Florida in Atlanta. Hurley said on Monday an effort will be made to get the team to Dallas to watch Saturday’s Big 12 Championship Game with ASU football vying for a College Football Playoff spot.