Jayden Quaintance powered inside for 15 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks as visiting Arizona State stunned No. 23 West Virginia 65-57 on Tuesday in Morgantown, W.Va.
Basheer Jihad added 17 points and eight rebounds for the Sun Devils (11-7, 2-5 Big 12), who snapped a four-game losing streak in the first meeting of the teams.
Big 12 scoring leader Javon Small led West Virginia with 14 points but made just 2 of 11 shots. Jonathan Powell added 12 points for the Mountaineers.
Andrew Miller scored all 10 of his points for the Sun Devils in a seesaw first half. Then Arizona State surged to a 13-point lead shortly after intermission and held on down the stretch.
BJ Freeman had 11 of his 14 points in the second half and added eight rebounds for the Sun Devils.
Lethargic West Virginia (13-5, 4-3) showed the aftereffects of its emotionally draining, court-storming upset of No. 2 Iowa State on Saturday.
The Mountaineers made a mere 31 percent of their shots – just 4 of 29 (13.8 percent) from 3-point range — while the Sun Devils hit 48.1 percent overall and 5 of 17 (29.4 percent) from deep.
West Virginia made a late rush, whittling an 11-point deficit with a 9-2 run, which included a three-point play by Powell and four free throws by Sencire Harris.
The sprint made it 55-51 with 2:32 left, but the Mountaineers got no closer as Quaintance followed with a pair of baskets to steady Arizona State. Jihad then made three free throws in the final 23 seconds to wrap it up.
West Virginia missed eight of its first nine shots to open the game and had another dry spell later in the first half, when it went 1-for-10.
In between, the Mountaineers put together a 15-1 run fueled by a pair of 3-pointers by Powell and one by Amani Hansberry. During the spree, which put West Virginia up 17-11, the Sun Devils missed seven shots and committed seven turnovers.
Late in the period, Miller hit a jumper and followed with a 3-pointer, giving Arizona State a 24-23 lead at the break.
The Sun Devils’ momentum continued to start the second half as they opened with a 13-1 burst. Quaintance scored seven points as they bolted to their biggest lead, 37-24.
– Field Level Media
