Arizona State basketball (7-1) hands Saint Mary’s (7-1) its first loss of the season with a 68-64 win on Friday night.
The Acrisure Classic was circled on many Sun Devil fans’ calendar at the beginning of the school year. Solid competition against pristine mid-major opponents like New Mexico and Saint Mary’s and a possible rematch against a Pac-12 foe in USC.
In the end, the Maroon and Gold faced the mid-majors, pulling upsets against on Thursday against New Mexico and now against Saint Mary’s on Friday night. As of right now, the victory over the Gael’s is their first Quad 1 win of the season.
“I’m happy that our players got to taste what it feels like to win a championship,” Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley told reporters after the game. “As we continue to proceed through the season, I think we can build off of this.”
Here are three takeaways from the win.
Takeaway #1: Little threes? No problem
After their struggles, the Sun Devils have found their composure from beyond-the-arc, making 39.1% of their triple attempts this season, compared to 30% last season.
Hurley’s side went back to their former selves on Friday night, going nearly 28% from three-point land. In fact, freshman guard Joson Sanon was the only Sun Devil to make most of his three-point attempts. However, they did well inside the arc, going 46% from the field.
The physicality also showed up down the stretch. Despite being out rebounded 41-34, Arizona State had 38 points in the paint and 13 second chance points. It also worked well in transition through its guards, with 14 fast break points compared to Saint Mary’s four.
However, the Sun Devils did get some luck late from deep, going 40% from that range in the second half. Redshirt senior guard Adam Miller and Sanon scored triples in the last six minutes.
“I thought both teams played a winning game and they’re a really good program,” Hurley said. “They got great metrics. They really guarded great last night. I was concerned about points and I think we were able to score enough.”
Takeaway #2: Sanon helps throughout
By consistently looking at a Sun Devil basketball stat sheet, one might figure out that Joson Sanon is a key player. He has led the team with 15 points per game, and doing so off the bench. Additionally, the four-star recruit has put up double figures in every game this season except on Nov. 10 vs. Gonzaga.
However, Sanon tends to score his points in bunches. 15 in the first half vs. Cal Poly, only seven in the second. 12 in the first half vs. New Mexico, and only seven in the second.
It seemed that fans were going to get a similar showing on Friday night, as Sanon floated in eight points sporadically throughout the first half. Already sort of a change, but he followed it up with 11 points in the second half. This included a stretch where he made three consecutive shots for the Sun Devils give/extend the lead for the Sun Devils before the under 12 media timeout.
“He’s playing with a lot of confidence,” Hurley said. “He believes in himself. He believed in himself before I got him. We’re just trying to put him in good spots where he can make plays. He’s the best shooter I’ve ever coached.”
An Acrisure Classic MVP type performance for the freshman.
Takeaway #3: Quaintance makes his mark
Sanon was not the only big name recruit that entered the program. His teammate, freshman forward Jayden Quaintance, has also made an impact on the team, even when he is not scoring.
Granted, he was a rebound short of getting his second double-double of the season, with 10 points and nine rebounds. But Quaintance also had five assists, finding ways to dish the ball to his teammates when he was double-teamed.
long with the season-high in assists, he also showed his defensive prowess that Hurley has loved, stealing the ball three times. Of course, it would be a Quaintance performance without a block. Or in this case, two.
“In a game like this with the physicality of that Saint Mary’s frontline, to be able to do the damage that he was able to do I think shows what kind of upside he has,” Hurley said.
“Our defense was really good tonight,” he adds. “We really tested them, challenged them with things around the basket, and I thought we guarded them great. So, it was really good stuff for us tonight.”
Up next for Arizona State (7-1):Â vs. San Diego (3-4) — Dec. 3 at 9 p.m. EST
Up next for Saint Mary’s (7-1):Â vs. UTSA (2-3)– Dec. 3 at 10 p.m. EST