Tyon Grant-Foster Records Double-Double as Gonzaga Rolls Over Arizona State in 77-65 Road Win
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Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Tyon Grant-Foster (7) takes a shot against Arizona State Sun Devils center Massamba Diop (35) on Nov. 14, 2025, at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe. Credit: Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images [/caption]
It wasn’t a clean affair, but the No. 19 Gonzaga Bulldogs (4-0) handled business on the road in a 77-65 victory over Arizona State (2-1), staying undefeated in the early portion of the 2025-26 season.
After some early struggles offensively and a hot start shooting-wise from the Sun Devils, the Zags settled in by doing what they have been accustomed to in the early goings of the season: defensive pressure from their second unit. It led to multiple dry spells from ASU during the contest, as GU controlled the pace for most of the game since the first media timeout.
Heading into tonight, Bulldogs big man Graham Ike had logged three consecutive double-doubles to begin the season, the longest such streak of his career. He put up 20 points in 34 minutes but fell one rebound short of pushing it to four games. Although, there was a Bulldog who did record double figures in two statistical categories, that being 6-7 forward Tyon Grant-Foster, who was all over the place in the win.
Grant-Foster finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks in just 22 minutes of work off the bench. After having a slow acclimation process due to his eligibility waiver situation not getting sorted out until a week before the regular season began, he seems to be uber comfortable in Mark Few’s system already. He did a little bit of everything on the floor, defending with his length, aggressively crashing the glass, taking the ball up the court in transition, getting to the free-throw line, and catching backdoor lobs. The only blemish on Grant-Foster’s game so far is his shooting, as he’s hit just two of his 12 three-point attempts to this point.
The Sun Devils jumped out to an early lead due to turning GU over four times and having a quick start from beyond the arc, hitting three of their four shots from deep. Moe Odum and Bryce Ford each drilled contested threes, with the latter knocking one down over Adam Miller. Miller spent the last two seasons with Arizona State, and to begin his first game back in Tempe, he wasn’t exactly effective. Known for his prowess in shooting from the outside, he started 1-for-3 from the field, including an airball on an open pull-up midrange jumper. It prompted taunting and jeering from the ASU student section, who also berated Miller during the starting lineup introductions.
But he ended on a high note, nailing a couple of catch-and-shoot threes coming off screens away from the ball in the second half that pushed the Zags’ lead to 15, their biggest of the game. Tallying 10 points, Miller was one of four Bulldogs to reach double figures in scoring.
“What I told him [Miller] after the game, in front of the guys, was like, that’s so hard to do,” Few said. “He missed some shots early and I know he was down on himself, wasn’t feeling good. And I think that just shows incredible mental toughness…when it’s not going good, to flip the switch and come back and make plays, and those shots were huge and kinda gave us the cushion to get us through that in the end. So I was proud of him…”
The final guy in that group was Braden Huff, who was an efficient 4-for-5 from the floor and hit his first three-pointer of the season in an 11-point performance. But he got in foul trouble – and eventually fouled out with five minutes left in regulation – limiting him to just 20 minutes of action.
Braeden Smith was also a standout in this game as the team’s point guard, racking up nine assists to just one turnover. He was also present defensively and on the boards, making his one point in the game not an accurate depiction of his full impact.
Neither squad shot particularly well from the field, with ASU really struggling from the middle of the first half onward, logging a 36 percent field goal percentage overall. Gonzaga shot a subpar 43 percent from the floor, as they wound up converting more made free throws (27) than field goals (22).
In the second half, it felt as if a foul was called every 45 seconds without much favoritism for one side or the other. There was at least one sequence where Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley would beg to differ, however, when Sun Devil Santiago Trouet received a technical foul after blocking Jalen Warley’s shot, then looking back at him. Hurley voiced his displeasure with the call, and then on the ensuing play, Ike rejected Massamba Diop with a hard block, sending Hurley into a frenzy as he pleaded for a whistle, resulting in him getting T’d up as well.
Ike seemed to get the benefit of the doubt on a lot of plays, as he looked to get away with a couple of dribbling violations in the first half: a possible travel and then a near double dribble when he initiated a dribble hand-off. He also took 15 free throws in the game, as 12 of his 20 points came from the charity stripe. There were 44 fouls combined (22 for each team) — not including Hurley’s technical — and 58 free throws in the contest.
GU will head back to Spokane for a matchup with Southern Utah on Monday, November 17, at 6 PM PT in the McCarthey Athletic Center, the team’s final tune-up before the Player’s Era Championship the following week.
