Sun Devil win Acrisure Classic, Sanon wins tournament MVP

(Photo: Spencer Barnes/WCSN)

ASU hoped to extend their winning streak to five with a possible victory against undefeated St. Marys, a team that had just been a five seed in the NCAA tournament the previous season, in the Acrisure Classic Championship game after a demanding and hard-fought victory over a tough New Mexico team, on Thursday night.

Both teams seemed to be facing their most difficult game of the season thus far, as St. Marys had only given up 60.7 points per game going into this game, the 20th ranked mark in the country. The Sun Devils, who had scored 80 or more points in six straight games, were hoping to change that.

ASU’s plan had to focus on pushing the pace, creating mistakes, and taking advantage of the Gaels’ slower-paced offense. Given the stakes—a championship cup, an unbeaten streak, and perhaps a number next to their name given the chaos around college basketball —this matchup seemed sure to live up to the high expectations. It accomplished that and more. They did so forcefully as rookie guard Joson Sanon guided ASU (7-1) to a 68-64 victory over St. Marys (7-1).

“They’re a really good program, they’ve got great metrics.” Hurley said. “They really guarded great last night (against USC), I was concerned about points, I think we were able to score enough, I knew we weren’t gonna hit the marks we’ve hit earlier, but it’s going to be a win that travels for us, I’m happy that our players got to taste what it feels like to win a championship.”

The Gaels were ranked 349th in the nation in adjusted tempo entering Friday’s game, indicating that they thrive in the slow, methodical intricacies of basketball. Instead of playing to St. Marys’ strengths, head coach Bobby Hurley and the Sun Devils wanted to play their fast-paced, athletic style of basketball.

ASU’s game plan worked flawlessly in the first half of this game, running in the fastbreak and making St Marys uncomfortable, as ASU forced eight Gaels turnovers, scoring ten points off those turnovers and adding eight fastbreak points in the half to St Marys’ zero. When combined with four blocks from four different players, it was clear that continuing to play fast was going to win ASU this game.

“We’ve grown up a lot.” Hurley said. “Our defense was really good tonight, we really tested them, challenged things around the basket and I thought we guarded them great so it was a really good step for us tonight.”

The two rookies, Joson Sanon and center Jayden Quaitance, were everywhere on both sides of the ball in this game. Bringing up these two is starting to become a fairly regular occurrence, game after game. Sanon finished with 19 points, fading away left and right as usual and making shots when ASU needed them. Quaintance filled the stat sheet and made his impact felt everywhere with 10 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, and 3 steals, including the game-winning basket that put ASU ahead with less than a minute left.

Averaging 19 points each game and shooting over 50% in both of the tournament’s games, Joson Sanon was justifiably named the Acrisure Classic MVP. Even though he’s only a freshman, he constantly manages to be Arizona State’s go-to player in the closing minutes.

“Joson believes in himself, he believed in himself before I got him.” Hurley said. “We’re just trying to put him in good spots where he can make plays and he’s the best shooter I’ve ever coached and he can do it in a number of different ways, and he’s just a really gifted offensive player”

St Mary’s sophomore guard Jordan Ross nailed four 3-pointers to keep the Gaels in it. In the middle of the first half, the Gaels stormed out for an 11-0 run at one point in the first half, so ASU didn’t exactly breeze through the game. This game was as back and forth as a game could get, with nine lead changes and eight ties.

Ross, however, was the only genuine difference-maker for St Marys throughout the game. The Gaels’ awful shooting in the second half ultimately proved to be their undoing. St. Mary started the second half 1-10 from the field and finished 11-30, missing half of their free throw tries at 5-10. St. Mary’s 64 points were the second-lowest total allowed by ASU this season, indicating that the Sun Devils’ defense is improving.

Even if conference play doesn’t begin for another month for ASU, victories like these give you a lot of hope for what your team may do in the remaining games. The Sun Devils’ schedule this season has been as difficult as non-conference play gets, and despite that, this team has done nothing but succeed. The team’s ability to win big games, as well as each player’s ability to step up and hit the big shot or make the clutch defensive stop on a consistent basis, demonstrates what this team is capable of even with college’s basketball’s toughest conference awaiting them.

“This (Win) should show us that we can really compete with anybody.” Hurley said. “I think we realized that when we were at Gonzaga a couple of weeks ago, a game we didn’t win, but were tied with four minutes, so I think all these experiences really help develop you and make you become better.”