Freshman guard Tra Holder dribbles the ball up the court after Colgate opposition losses possession. ASU narrowly defeated Colgate, 78-71, at Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2014. (Photo by Mario Mendez)After closing the first half with a 13-point lead, the ASU basketball team looked as though it was going to be able to coast to the finish line. A hard-fought second half changed the game and took it down to the wire.
The Sun Devils (4-2) defeated Colgate 78-71 Saturday at Wells Fargo Arena to halt a two-game skid. ASU was led by junior guard Gerry Blakes, who scored 23 points.
Video by Marc Steiner | Sports Reporter
The Raiders (1-5) showed that they were ready to play from the start, keeping the game within five points for a majority of the first half. ASU was able to put together a run to finish it off, however, and take a commanding lead into the locker room.
Sendek said that Colgate provided problems defensively that his team was able to solve for the most part early on, but had too many times when they couldn't in the game.
"I think for the most part of the first half we did a pretty good job," Sendek said. "Not unlike a series of our early games this season, we had way too many defensive breakdowns in the second half and we've got to become a better defensive team for 40 minutes."
Colgate started the second half aggressive and made ASU realize that the game would be a battle until the end. The Raiders outscored ASU 41-35 in the second half and they were within three points with just over two minutes left before ASU iced the game.
Sendek saw before and during the game how varied the Raiders are on offense and he commended them for being such a difficult team to defend.
Senior forward Jonathan Gilling scores a layup while being fouled in a home game against Colgate. ASU narrowly defeated Colgate, 78-71, at Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2014. (Photo by Mario Mendez)"I was really impressed watching them on tape, and then even more so here in person, with their ability to execute on offense," Sendek said. "Obviously they have a very seasoned veteran team, a group that's played together a long time and they're particularly challenging to guard because they exercise tremendous patience and discipline and they shoot the basketball so well from so many positions, including their starting center spot."
ASU leaned on Blakes in the second half as he scored 15 of his 23 points in the period. Coach Herb Sendek has been impressed with Blakes's play overall and Saturday, but is not surprised because of his ability.
"Gerry is a good player, he's a talented player, but any time you transition from junior college or high school to the Pac-12, there's a learning curve," Sendek said. "But no one has ever called into question Gerry's talent quotient or his ability to score the ball, that's why we recruited him."
Blakes gives the credit for his recent success to others.
"I give credit to my coaches putting me in a great position to contribute to the team," Blakes said. "God has just helped me get confidence to go out here and play how I'm supposed to play."
In the end, Sendek knows that people will question how the game was close given the discrepancy between perceived talent levels, but he believes that Colgate is a good team.
"This was a good team we played tonight," Sendek said. "I just go by the eyeball test. I'm not going by names, conference. I'm not going by all that other stuff. No. Let's just watch the game. And when I watched the game, they're a good team. I'm not saying they're a Final Four team, but they're a good team."
Reach the reporter at mtonis@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @Tonis_The_Tiger
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