Arizona State knocked off one of the top teams in the West Coast Conference on Friday night, defeating Santa Clara 81-74 in Henderson, Nev. But Sunday the Sun Devils go up against the big dogs. Arizona State (2-0) will travel to Spokane, Wash.
, to face the No. 6 Gonzaga Bulldogs (1-0). "It was a test," ASU coach Bobby Hurley said of beating Santa Clara for his 199th career victory.
"They'll win a lot of games this year. "It is an older team that has played a lot of games together and brought several guys back. So it was a really good win for us.
" Seniors BJ Freeman and Adam Miller led the way for the Sun Devils on Friday, scoring 17 and 16 points, respectively, and combining for five 3-pointers. ASU also got a boost from freshmen Amier Ali (13 points), Joson Sanon (11 points) and Jayden Quaintance (13 rebounds). "There are a number of guys who can be playmakers and we trust to make the right play," Hurley said.
"If we share the ball the right way, good things will happen. Joson got off to a fast start, JQ came through with his rebounding, and Amier made some big shots down the stretch. The freshmen stepped up for us.
" The Sun Devils played much better than in their home opener, a 55-48 victory against Idaho State on Tuesday. "It came down to executing and moving the ball," Miller said. "We have great players, so when we are kicking out and hitting 3s, that's what our team is built off of.
We have to continue making the extra pass and getting into the paint." That will be esse.
