National Basketball Association
Colorado 87, Arizona St. 81
When: 8:30 PM ET, Sunday, March 1, 2015
Where: Coors Events Center, Boulder, Colorado
Officials:
# Eric Curry, # Randy Heimerman, # Tom O'Neill
Attendance:
9087
By SportsDirect Inc.
Colorado 87, Arizona State 81: Askia Booker scored 29 points in his final regular-season home game as the Buffaloes edged the Sun Devils.
Josh Scott had 14 points while Dustin Thomas (12) and Xavier Johnson (nine) and combined for 21 of Colorado’s 30 points off the bench. The Buffaloes (13-15, 6-10 Pac-12) shot 68.2 percent in the second half and 59.2 percent for the game to end a three-game slide and win for only the second time in eight contests.
Shaquielle McKissic poured in 18 points for Arizona State (15-14, 7-9), which fell into a seventh-place tie with California with two home games remaining. Freshman Tra Holder went 12-of-16 from the foul line to finish with 14 points and added a season-high tying eight assists while Savon Goodman and Eric Jacobsen each tallied 12 points and seven rebounds for the Sun Devils.
The team traded sizable runs over the final 5 ½ minutes of the opening half, with Arizona State combating an 11-1 surge with a 12-2 burst, before Booker scored the last four points of the first half to leave Colorado with a two-point halftime edge. The Buffaloes matched their biggest advantage of the game at 50-41 early in the second half and still enjoyed a seven-point edge with eight minutes to go, but McKissic and Bo Barnes bookended an 11-2 run with 3-pointers to give the Sun Devils a 72-70 lead with 4:46 left.
Scott countered with a three-point play less than a minute later, Booker answered a go-ahead jumper from Jacobsen with one of his own and Johnson added a layup with 2:08 remaining to leave Colorado ahead 77-74. Jacobsen replied with another jumper, but two free throws from Booker made a five-point game with 36 seconds left, Tre'Shaun Fletcher hit a free throw and Scott added a tip-in with 17 seconds to go to hold off one final charge by Arizona State.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The teams combined for 50 made free throws and 56 fouls, with Arizona State going 25-of-39 from the stripe and Colorado 25-of-33. … Booker, who is one of eight Buffaloes with over 1,600 career points, became only the third player in school history to play in at least 130 games, joining Austin Dufault (136; 2008-12) and Cory Higgins (132; 2007-11). … Colorado posted its Pac-12-best 24th consecutive victory when scoring at least 75 points.
Top Game Performances
Arizona St. |
|
Colorado |
Shaquielle McKissic 18 |
Scoring |
Askia Booker 29 |
Tra Holder 8 |
Assists |
Xavier Johnson 3 |
Savon Goodman 7 |
Rebounds |
Jaron Hopkins 6 |
Tra Holder 12 |
Free Throws Made |
Askia Booker 10 |
Gerry Blakes 2 |
Steals |
Askia Booker 2 |
Gerry Blakes 1 |
Blocks |
Josh Scott 3 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Arizona St.
|
81 |
48.0 |
8-20 |
25-39 |
12 |
28 |
3 |
6 |
12 |
Colorado
|
87 |
59.2 |
4-7 |
25-33 |
14 |
30 |
5 |
6 |
11 |