Gonzaga Nation

Recap, analysis from Gonzaga's gritty road win over Arizona State

Bulldogs outlast Sun Devils in first true road test of 2025-26 season
Cole Forsman|
Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Tyon Grant-Foster (7).
Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Tyon Grant-Foster (7). | Photo by Erik Smith

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Gonzaga Bulldogs

Tensions boiled inside Desert Financial Arena as Gonzaga and Arizona State exchanged blows and words during Friday's tense showdown in Tempe, Arizona.

A combined 58 free throw attempts, 44 foul calls and a pair of technical fouls between the future and former Pac-12 schools underscored the chaotic nature of the late-night tilt, creating quite the environment for the Bulldogs' first true road test of the 2025-26 campaign.

In the end, the level-headed Zags prevailed over the pesky Sun Devils, coming away with a 77-65 victory to advance to 4-0 on the young college basketball season.

Arizona State got its home crowd involved with every jab it threw Gonzaga's way, though some costly mistakes from Bobby Hurley and his players in the second half took all the wind out of their sails down the stretch.

A sluggish second half offensively from Gonzaga left the door open for Arizona State to get back in the game. The Sun Devils chopped what was once a 14-point deficit into a 5-point hole with 13 minutes left, but the Zags jumped back ahead by double-digits moments later after Santiago Trouet was assessed a technical foul for taunting.

Not even a full 60 seconds of game later, the referees called a technical foul on Bobby Hurley for his reaction to Graham Ike's block on Massamba Diop, sending Ike back to the free-throw line to make it a 14-point game once again.

Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Bobby Hurley
Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Bobby Hurley yells from the sideline during a game against the Southern Utah Thunderbirds at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe on Nov. 4, 2025. | Diannie Chavez/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ike paced the Zags with 20 points and nine rebounds. Adam Miller dropped 10 points, including a pair of crucial 3-pointers, on his former team, while Tyon Grant-Foster added a 14-point, 12-rebound double-double off the bench.

It wasn't the cleanest 40 minutes the Zags have put together on the young season, with 14 turnovers and a porous performance from the field in the second half keeping the Sun Devils in the fight till the final 5 minutes of regulation.

Here is the live updates recap:

2ND HALF RECAP

Gonzaga 76, Arizona State 61 (0:59): Moe Odum couldn't handle the defensive rebound off Adam Miller's missed 3-point attempt and Tyon Grant-Foster cashed in with an easy dunk, putting the finishing touches on the Bulldogs' fourth win of the season.

Gonzaga 71, Arizona State 59 (2:55): Graham Ike directed traffic and found the bottom of the bucket with a signature post hook, pushing his team's lead back to a dozen as the Zags looked to close out the final minutes of their first road game of the season on a positive note. That bucket gave Ike his second straight 20-point game.

Gonzaga 67, Arizona State 53 (5:03): Gonzaga went on without Braden Huff, who picked up his fifth foul with just over 5 minutes to play.

Gonzaga 67, Arizona State 52 (5:30): Adam Miller gave Gonzaga its largest lead at a pivotal point in the ballgame. The former Sun Devil knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers at the top of the arc, putting the Zags up 15 with just over 5 minutes to play. Miller also converted at the charity stripe a few plays earlier to push the lead back to double-digits.

Gonzaga 59, Arizona State 48 (7:40): Graham Ike had a chance to give the Zags their largest lead of the night, but the Sun Devils chipped away at their deficit instead after Moe Odum raced down the floor and nailed a 3-pointer following Ike's third miss at the charity stripe.

Gonzaga 57, Arizona State 45 (8:59): Bobby Hurley helped Gonzaga add to its lead after giving the referee an earful on his way down the court, sending Graham Ike back to the free-throw line, where he went 1-for-2. Hurley wasn't happy about Ike's block on Massamba Diop, which would've been Ike's fourth foul had the referees blown the whistle.

Gonzaga 56, Arizona State 45 (9:44): The referees assessed a technical foul to Santiago Trouet for taunting, sending Graham Ike to the free-throw line with a chance to push the lead to double-digits. Ike knocked down two from the charity stripe despite the "curtain of distraction" being positioned behind the basket.

Gonzaga 51, Arizona State 44 (11:37): Gonzaga's woeful start to the second half (2-of-13 from the field) opened the door for Arizona State to crawl back into the game after trailing by 14 in the first half. Not to mention, Braden Huff and Graham Ike each had three fouls by the 15:50 mark.

Gonzaga 49, Arizona State 44 (13:14): Bryce Ford's 3-pointer brought the home crowd back to life and the Sun Devils within striking distance. Arizona State's 7-0 scoring run kept the Zags off the board for nearly 3 minutes.

Gonzaga 49, Arizona State 40 (14:40): Tyon Grant-Foster stuffed Anthony Johnson at the rim, only to have his layup attempt rejected by Allen Mukeba seconds later. Massamba Diop sent Braden Huff's second chance try back, leading to a 3-pointer from Moe Odum and a timeout from Mark Few.

Gonzaga 47, Arizona State 37 (16:24): Graham Ike picked up two fouls in the first 4 minutes of the half, sending him to the bench with three total for the game. Fifth-year senior was called for an illegal screen on the first possession out of the half, then was whistled away from the ball on a missed 3-point attempt from Emmanuel Innocenti moments later. Gonzaga missed six of its first seven looks from the field after halftime.

HALFTIME RECAP

Gonzaga 45, Arizona State 32

Graham Ike comes alive: Gonzaga's 6-foot-9 lefty was held in check for most of the half, but the Sun Devils couldn't contain forever, yielding seven straight points — including a monster one-hand slam — over the final 2 minutes to the All-WCC forward. Ike had to match Arizona State's physicality in the paint and answered the bell, going 5-for-6 from the free-throw line while drawing fouls on Massamba Diop and Santiago Trouet in the post.

Fouls adding up: The tail-end of the first half featured a lot of whistles, including a few going against some impactful players. Massamba Diop had to sit around the 6-minute mark after being called for his second foul — only for Arizona State's backup forward, Allen Mukeba, to pick up a pair of personal fouls in just 9 minutes of action off the bench. The Sun Devils' other starter in the frontcourt, Andrija Grbovic, also had two fouls in the first half. Emmanuel Innocenti, Braden Huff and Jalen Warley had two fouls on Gonzaga's side.

Second unit shows up: Arizona State came out of the gates firing and led for a majority of the first 10 minutes — until Gonzaga's second unit battened down the hatches defensively, drying up the Sun Devils' well from downtown while sparking some momentum on the offensive end of the floor. Tyon Grant-Foster and Jalen Warley helped spark a 19-2 scoring run, giving Gonzaga a 14-point lead after trailing by three just 6 minutes earlier.

1ST HALF

Gonzaga 41, Arizona State 29 (1:18): Marcus Adams Jr. got on the board against the team he'd committed to for a month in 2023, knocking down a free throw as the Sun Devils entered the bonus. Graham Ike answered on the other end with his second field goal of the night.

Gonzaga 38, Arizona State 25 (2:51): Braden Huff headed to the bench after picking up his second personal foul of the half. Arizona State had to sit its top big and leading scorer, Massamba Diop, around the 6-minute mark following his second foul call.

Gonzaga 36, Arizona State 22 (4:08): Tyon Grant-Foster put down his second alley-oop of the night, this one courtesy of Braeden Smith while running in transition. A pair of free throws from Grant-Foster moments later made it a 19-2 scoring run for the Zags over a 6-minute span, giving them the largest lead of the night for either side. Bryce Ford responded with a 3-pointer on the other end. That was the Sun Devils' third made field goal since the 12-minute mark.

Gonzaga 29, Arizona State 20 (6:32): Arizona State went cold from downtown following its hot start, missing four in a row during its 4-minute scoring drought. Steele Venters had no such trouble from deep, connecting on from way downtown to make it a 17-3 scoring run for the Zags.

Gonzaga 22, Arizona State 20 (8:29): The Bulldogs' second unit — Jalen Warley and Tyon Grant-Foster in particular — changed the dynamic of the first half on both ends of the floor, as the Sun Devils hit a rut offensively amid a 10-3 scoring spurt from the Zags. Grant-Foster and Warley accounted for six of those points.

Arizona State 20, Gonzaga 19 (9:25): Graham Ike got on the board with a post score over Massamba Diop, giving the 6-foot-9 forward his first field goal after nearly 11 minutes without a bucket to start.

Arizona State 17, Gonzaga 16 (11:40): A well-executed out-of-bounds play resulted in Tyon Grant-Foster finishing off an alley-oop pass from Mario Saint-Supéry. Bulldogs started 7-of-14 from the field despite a slow start from Graham Ike.

Arizona State 17, Gonzaga 14 (12:01): Sun Devils feasted on early turnovers from the Zags to strike first in the desert. Massamba Diop had the top play of the first half after finishing off an alley-oop pass from Moe Odum with a two-hand flush, moments after Gonzaga committed its fourth turnover of the night. Steele Venters answered with a 3-pointer in the corner minutes later. Graham Ike had yet to score through 8 minutes of action.

Arizona State 11, Gonzaga 9 (14:32): Braden Huff ended Gonzaga's dry spell with a 3-pointer from an assist from Braden Smith.

Arizona State 11, Gonzaga 6 (15:37): Moe Odum continued Arizona State's hot start from 3-point range with a pull-up from downtown in transition, bringing Desert Financial Arena to life as the Zags strived to weather the early storm from the home team.

Arizona State 8, Gonzaga 6 (17:23): The Sun Devils came out firing from behind the arc. Bryce Ford's stepback from behind the arc put the home team up two.

Arizona State 3, Gonzaga 2 (19:15): Andrija Grbovic came away with a steal and then nailed a 3-pointer in Graham Ike's face on the other end, putting the Sun Devils on the board. Emmanuel Innocenti scored inside the arc on the end for a quick response.

PREGAME

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Cole Forsman
COLE FORSMAN

Cole Forsman is a reporter for Gonzaga Bulldogs On SI. Cole holds a degree in Journalism and Sports Management from Gonzaga University.

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