ASU Joson Sanon career night not enough in 99-73 loss to Utah

Sanon came out of the gates swinging from deep. The freshman dropped 18 of ASU’s first 29 points and shot 4-for-5 from beyond the arc. It tied his highest point total since December 3rd, and Sanon did it in the first 12 minutes. The Fall River, Mass. native led a Sun Devils 3-point attack that shot 58.3% from the perimeter.

Despite Sanon being a flamethrower, the Utes remained close throughout the first half. ASU’s lead never exceeded seven, as Utah dominated the paint. Of the Utes’ 41 first-half points, 28 came within the paint while shooting 13-14 on layups and dunks. The Sun Devils were without freshman center Jayden Quaintance, and as a result, their paint defense suffered immensely. Ausar led the way for the Utes with 12 points on 4-for-5 shooting from the field, getting to the line four times.

After halftime, it got ugly quickly. Junior center Shawn Phillips Jr. and senior forward Basheer Jihad got into early foul trouble. Losing the duo meant ASU had no size to combat Utah, and it took full advantage of the mismatch. The Utes shot 55.7% from the field and got to the free throw line 18 times, as the Sun Devils had no other options. Ausar duplicated his production in the second half, as the 6’8 forward was crushing the undersize Sun Devils.

ASU went from its light-out shooting in the first half to shooting 31% from the field. Sanon tried to muster his team to compete offensively. However, once Utah went on a 13-0 run, ASU had no response.

The Sun Devils ran out of gas in Salt Lake City, making it back-to-back losses and falling to 13-16. ASU has nothing to be ashamed of, as the injuries surrounding this team have made finishing the season almost impossible.