Richie Saunders Career-High, Defense Lift BYU Past Arizona State In Big 12 Opener
Dec 31, 2024, 4:30 PM | Updated: Jan 2, 2025, 2:26 pm
PROVO, Utah – BYU basketball welcomed Arizona State to the Big 12 with a blowout victory.
The Cougars cruised past ASU 76-56 in the Sun Devils’ first-ever Big 12 game in front of a crowd of 16,926 on New Year’s Eve inside the Marriott Center.
BYU defeats Arizona State to open Big 12 play
In his first game since December 14 after suffering a concussion, BYU junior Richie Saunders scored a career-high 30 points in the victory.
Saunders is the first BYU player since Alex Barcello in 2022 against Pepperdine to reach the 30-point threshold. Barcello scored 33 on February 12, 2022.
Freshman guard Egor Demin returned after four weeks off due to a knee contusion. Demin scored four points, dished out seven assists, and grabbed four rebounds, and had five turnovers in his return.
Arizona State was held to 21% shooting from three-point range and 37% from the field.
ASU’s leading scorer was guard BJ Freeman, who scored 11 points.
First Half
15:02 – Richie Saunders had no rust after not playing since December 14 due to a concussion he suffered against Wyoming. He made his presence felt right away early against the Sun Devils, scoring eight points, grabbing three rebounds, and throwing a loose ball off an ASU player to send it out of bounds. BYU 8, Arizona State 3.
No Christmas break rust from Richie Saunders.
He’s been the best player on the floor to start this game. #BYU #BYUhoops
— Matthew Baiamonte (@baiamontematt) December 31, 2024
11:36 – BYU jumped out to a 7-0 run after Richie Saunders buried his second three of the game. Mawot Mag carved out some minutes in Kevin Young’s rotation to tip off Big 12 play by subbing in for Kanon Catchings. Mag picked up ASU’s leading scorer, Joson Sanon when he checked into the game off the bench. BYU 18, ASU 4.
BYU jumps out to a 7-0 run after Richie Saunders buries his second three of the game.
Mawot Mag is carving out some early minutes in Kevin Young's rotation to open Big 12 play. When ASU's leading scorer, Joson Sanon, checked into the game, Mag picked him on defense.
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 31, 2024
7:48 – Arizona State was 0-9 from three at this point of the game. BYU was 5-of-15. The Sun Devils had a 6-0 run to cut BYU’s lead to eight before Dallin Hall hit a three, and then Keba Keita earned a three-point opportunity the old-school way by getting fouled in the paint. BYU 23, ASU 10.
4:00 – In nine minutes on the floor, Richie Saunders put together 13 points, four rebounds, one block, and one steal. BYU has eight assists on their first 10 field goals made. BYU 29, ASU 17.
0.00 – Kevin Young played 11 players in the first half. He subbed in Trey Stewart for some defense and then had Trevin Knell in for offense late in the half. Elijah Crawford also had some playing time and picked up a quick foul when he checked in.
Halftime: BYU 31, Arizona State 26.
ASU outscored BYU 16-5 in the final 6:46.
BYU had zero points in the last 2:10 of action.
Richie Saunders leads all scorers with 15.
BYU's perimeter defense was a highlight holding ASU to 2-15 from three in the first hal.
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) December 31, 2024
Arizona State closed the first half by outscoring BYU 16-5 in the final 6:46 of action.
Richie Saunders led all scorers with 15 points in the first half. BYU held Arizona State to 2-15 from three-point range in the first 20 minutes.
Half: BYU 31, Arizona State 26
Second Half
18:19 – Arizona State opened the second half with three turnovers. BYU made the Sun Devils pay, scoring seven points from those turnovers. Egor Demin was part of the scoring as he knocked down his first field goal at the 19:00-minute mark, and then Richie Saunders knocked down a corner three to force Bobby Hurley into an early timeout. BYU 38, ASU 26.
15:52 – The crowd didn’t like a no-call after ASU’s Basheer Jihad stripped the ball out of Egor Demin’s as he attempted to go up for a fastbreak layup. Then, on the next BYU possession, ASU head coach Bobby Hurley after freshman Jayden Quaintance was called for foul in the post against Keba Keita. Hurley was animated towards the refs, leading to BYU’s student section, “The ROC,” to begin chanting, “Bobby! Bobby! Bobby!” BYU 40, ASU 30.
11:50 – Egor Demin tossed a beautiful pass to Richie Saunders for a layup. It was Demin’s seventh assist of the game. BYU center Keba Keita is an explosive athlete. He had a putback bucket off a miss that he made look easy as he played above the rim.
On the next possession, ASU freshman Joson Sanon took a hard fall, colliding with Keita, which resulted in a turnover. He was on the floor for a bit before getting up and staying in the game. BYU 52, ASU 38.
7:40 – Arizona State’s Amier Ali was called for a technical foul after a slam dunk he had on BYU. Once he made the dunk, that appeared to be a staredown, resulting in a taunting technical. ASU head coach Bobby Hurley was not happy with that call and then refs gave him a technical foul. BYU 59, ASU 45
5:41 – Richie Saunders knocked down a bucket to give him a new career-high of 27 points. Saunders’ previous career high was 26 points against Idaho in another afternoon game on November 16. BYU 69, ASU 49.
1:00 – Saunders knocked down his sixth and final three of the game to reach 30 points.
Up Next for BYU Basketball, Arizona State
BYU goes on the road to face No. 14 Houston in the Fertitta Center on Saturday, January 4, 2025. Tip-off is at Noon (MST) on ESPN+ and KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM).
Houston is 1-0 in Big 12 play after defeating Oklahoma State in Stillwater 60-47 on December 30.
Arizona State returns to Tempe to host 0-1 Colorado on Saturday.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
