TEMPE, Ariz. — Basheer Jihad scored 12 of his 20 points in the second half, Joson Sanon added 19 points and nine rebounds and Arizona State pulled away late to beat St. Thomas (MN) 81-66 Sunday night.
Freshman Jayden Quaintance, a five-star recruit, had 13 points and 13 rebounds, four assists and three blocks for Arizona State (4-1) and Amier Ali scored 10 points.
Miles Barnstable scored 12 points and Kendall Blue added 11 for St. Thomas (3-2).
The Sun Devils used a 10-0 run to take the lead for good and make it 23-19 with 5:56 and Quaintance threw down a dunk to make it 39-29 at halftime. Nolan Minessale and Drake Dobbs made back-to-back 3 pointers to make it a two-point game less than 2 minutes into the second half but Jihad answered with a three-point play and the Tommies got no closer.
Rich Byhre hit a 3 that cut the deficit to 58-55 with 8 minutes to play but Sanon and Miller hit 3s 40 seconds apart to cap an 11-0 run about 3 1/2 minutes later. After Barnstable hit a 3 for St. Thomas, the Sun Devils scored nine consecutive points to take a 20-point lead when Sanon hit a 3-pointer with 1:53 remaining.
Arizona State shot 50% (27 of 54) from the field, made 9 of 22 (41%) from behind the arc and outscored the Tommies 18-3 at the free-throw line.
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Arizona sports
The city of Phoenix is home to four major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury. The Indoor Football League’s Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale.
Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.
The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events every year, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tour’s highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises.
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