TEMPE, Ariz. – Arizona State had a 13-point lead at halftime but Colgate outscored its Pac 12 opponent in the second half to make for an exciting final period of play.
 
The Raiders outscored the Sun Devils 41-35 in the second half but fell just short here Saturday night, 78-71.
 
The ASU lead was down to three with two minutes left to play but clutch free throw shooting down the stretch from the Sun Devils secured them the victory.
 
Four players were in double-figures for Colgate, with Austin Tillotson leading the way with a team and season-high 22 points. He also added four assists to his already impressive night.
 
Matt McMullen matched his career-high, which he achieved earlier this week, with 18 points in the game. He also chipped in two rebounds and one block. Luke Roh and Damon Sherman-Newsome both notched 14 points each, with Roh grabbing six rebounds as well. Ethan Jacobs recorded a season-high seven boards to lead the Raiders on the glass.
 
Roh was one point away from matching his career-best scoring night, which was set in a victory over Dartmouth on Jan. 5, 2013. He chose a great time to almost tie that feat as it was in front of his home state crowd. Roh grew up 20 minutes away from Arizona State in Scottsdale and had a great fan club cheering him and the Raiders on during Saturday's contest.
 
The Raiders are back on Cotterell Court Wednesday when they host Sacred Heart at 7 p.m.
 
Bottom Line
• Arizona State 78, Colgate 71
 
Won-Lost Records
• Arizona State improves to 4-2 overall
• Colgate shifts to 1-5
• All of Colgate's losses this season have been by seven or fewer points.
 
Facts & Figures
• Tillotson led the Raiders with 22 points after going 8-of-14 from the floor, 3-of-4 from behind the arc and 3-of-4 from the charity stripe.
• The York, Pennsylvania, native added three boards and four helpers in the game as well. He now has 157 career-assists in just his two years in a Colgate uniform.  
• McMullen matched his career-high 18 points after going 7-for-10 from the floor and 3-of-5 from behind the arc. The Brick, New Jersey, native achieved his career-best twice this week as he also recorded 18 points against James Madison on Monday.
• Roh posted a season-best 14 points, while leading the Raiders with a game-high five assists.
• Sherman-Newsome continued his double-digit scoring streak, making it nine straight games with 14 points in the contest. That accomplishment dates back to March 1 of last season.
• Colgate shot 50 percent from the floor and a season-best 50 percent from downtown making nine of his 18 attempts from long. On the other hand, ASU shot 54.3 percent overall and 35.3 percent from 3-point range.
• The Sun Devils slightly won the rebounding margin at 28-26 despite having the height advantage in the game.  ASU also held the edge on made free throws at 22-of-31 to 12-of-18.
• Colgate committed 14 turnovers but notched 15 assists, while the Sun Devils went even at 11 and 11, respectively.
• ASU saw Gerry Blakes go for a game-high 23 points and eight rebounds. Shaquielle McKissic (15 points) and Tra Holder (11 points) both added double-figures to the Sun Devils final scoring total.
 
Turning Point
• After an and-1 from Blakes the Sun Devils held an nine-point advantage with seven minutes remaining.
• Colgate would not go away, however, going on a 9-3 run to make it a three-point deficit with two minutes left to play.
• Unfortunately, Colgate was forced to start fouling ASU in hopes of some misses from the charity stripe but the Sun Devils' converted on three of their four attempts from the line late to secure the victory.
 
Game Breakdown
• Throughout the contest there were four score changes and four ties.
• ASU held the edge for much of the game but the score was tied for a little less than six minutes.
• After a 19-6 run to close out the first half, ASU took as 13-point lead into the break.
• Colgate came out in the second 20 minutes though on a 10-3 run to pull within six, at 46-40 with 17:30 left to play.
• The game went back-and-forth with the Sun Devils extending their lead to 11 points at one point but again Colgate responded with a 8-0 run over a two-minute span to make it a three-point ASU lead.
• With six minutes to play though Blakes converted on an and-1 to give the Sun Devils back a comfortable advantage at nine-points.
• And despite a 9-3 run in the remaining time, Colgate was unable to make the full comeback to steal the win away from ASU.
 
Interesting Notes
• Of Colgate's five losses this season, all have been by seven or fewer points.
• The five Raider starters accounted for all of Colgate's 71 points in the game.
• Tillotson has now registered double-digits in all of the Raiders contests so far this year, while also recording his 27th career double-figure scoring games.
• Sherman-Newsome notched his ninth-straight double-digit scoring night and sixth of this season.
• The Raiders shot a season-best 50 percent from behind the arc.  
• Rookie Jordan Robertson made his first collegiate appearance in the game posting one board in three minutes.
 
A Nice Homecoming
• Roh, who grew up 20 minutes away from the ASU campus, was able to have his family watch him play in his home state for the first time in four years.
• Roh tallied 14 points, six boards and a team-high five helpers in the contest.
• Despite not being able to spend Thanksgiving with their own families, the Raiders were still able to be somewhere special as the Roh family invited the entire Colgate travel party to their house for the holiday.
 
Gate Grab Bag
• Another highlight from the trip was when members of the Colgate squad were able to meet one of Colgate men's basketball greats in Bob Duffy '62. He was generous enough to swing by shoot around Saturday morning and then the game that night.
• Duffy was Colgate's second men's basketball player to have his jersey retired.
• He held Colgate's all-time scoring record for 19 years.
• Averaged 22.7 points per game throughout his four years as a Raider (1959-62).
• Still holds the record for most field goals attempted in a game (39 vs. Niagara, Feb. 12, 1962 – 16 made).
• Played professionally with the St. Louis Hawks, N.Y. Knicks and Detroit Pistons.
• Was also the head coach of the Raiders from 1964-67, where he led Colgate as the youngest major college basketball coach in the country.

Straight From The Source
• Colgate head coach Matt Langel: (on his thoughts from Saturday's game) "Coach (Herb) Sendek is one of the best coaches in the country. I've watched his career, his teams and they've played a bunch of different styles. But his guys always play hard and for this group, for a lot of new guys, played really well together."
 
"It took us too long to adjust to the game and to their athleticism. We obviously committed way to many first half turnovers that led to a lot of transition baskets for them. In the second half we played much better defense. But they made some shots that they needed to make and they were the shots we wanted them to take. I really credit the toughness of Gerry Blakes as well, stepping up and getting 23 points and eight rebounds. He was a guy that really took it to us tonight."
 
(on his team's fight to make it a one possession game late) "The not giving up part is well past this group. They are committed to try to do everything they can to win the game and it just wasn't meant to be tonight."

Up Next
• Colgate now shifts its attention to Sacred Heart for a Wednesday night home tilt at 7 p.m.
• The Pioneers host Campbell on Sunday for their third game of the Buckeye Classic. That game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
• These two teams have never faced each other prior to Saturday's contest.