Farrell And Geben Come Up Clutch Late In 76-71 Win Over Wake Forest
Matt Farrell drilled a three-pointer with 5.9 seconds left to break a 71-71 tie and help Notre Dame take down Wake Forest 76-71 on the road.
Martinas Geben followed Farrell's clutch offensive play with a steal on a Wake Forest inbounds to seal the Irish win with a pair of free throws.
Here is Blue & Gold Illustrated's half-by-half recap of the Irish win.
FIRST HALF
Neither team started particularly strong offensively in the opening four minutes, but the Irish were held without a field goal to help Wake Forest build a 7-2 advantage at the under-16 timeout.
Notre Dame’s two points came from guard TJ Gibbs at the free throw line while the Demon Deacons got a three-pointer from guard Brandon Childress and a bucket via star guard Bryant Crawford to help field the early edge. Wake Forest was just 2-of-8 from the field during the stretch.
The Irish found a rhythm after the break hitting three-straight shots to help tie the game at 12 with 12:30 left behind seven points from Farrell. A jumper from Crawford kept Wake Forest up (14-12) at the under-12 timeout.
Farrell continued his hot start hitting three free throws to get up to 10 points while cutting a Wake Forest lead to 16-515 with 11:08 remaining in the half. A pair of buckets from Geben kept the Irish down two points (21-19) at the under-8 timeout.
Notre Dame took its first lead in the game at the 6:41 mark after Gibbs knocked two free throws. Wake Forest quickly regained the lead with a three-pointer from Childers. The two teams traded baskets heading into the under-4 timeout with Wake Forest leading 30-28.
Geben scored six points during the stretch to get to his sixth-straight game of double-digit scoring.
Wake Forest closed the half strong hitting four of five shots to extend its lead to 41-36 heading into the break. The Demon Deacons got a three-pointer from guard Mitchell Wilbekin in the final 10 seconds to give the team momentum.
Geben led the Irish with 12 points and seven rebounds. Farrell remained with 10 while Gibbs pushed his total up to nine points for the trio to combine for 31 of the team’s 36 points. Notre Dame shot 11-of-26 (42.3 percent) from the field, but just 2-of-10 (20 percent) behind the arc.
Childress, guard Keyshawn Woods and guard Chaundee Brown each had eight points to pace the Demon Deacons. Wake Forest shot 16-of-34 (47.1 percent) overall in the half and 4-of-13 (30.8 percent) on its three-point attempts.
SECOND HALF
The teams were even in the second half during the opening minute with a three-pointer from Gibbs and three free throws by Wake Forest. Then the Irish reeled off an 8-0 run over 1:17 of game action.
Gibbs scored six-straight points connecting on a three-pointer then all three free throws after getting fouled. A bug dunk by Geben forced a Wake Forest timeout with the Irish leading 47-44 with 17:31 left.
Wake Forest countered with a quick 8-4 run behind three-pointers from Wilbekin and Childress and a jumper from 7-footer Doral Moore to take a 52-51 lead at the under-16 timeout.
The Demon Deacons followed that with a 7-0 run getting two-point baskets from Childress and Woods and a three-pointer from Wilbekin to take a 59-51 lead with 13:06 remaining. A big three by Farrell ended the run, but Wilbekin connected on another three-pointer on the other end to give Wake Forest a 62-54 lead at the under-12 timeout.
Notre Dame was able to cut the Wake Forest lead to 64-60 after back-to-back buckets from Geben and big man Austin Torres. But, a layup from Crawford after a nice screen and three-pointer from Brown quickly pushed the lead back 69-60 for the Demon Deacons at the under-8 timeout.
Brey’s defense finally showed up over the next five-plus minutes helping Notre Dame go on an 11-0 run to retake the lead 71-69 with under three minutes to play. Farrell scored five points during the run while Rex Pflueger hit a three-pointer and John Mooney notched three points of his own.
Wake Forest’s scoreless streak hit 5:13 heading into the under-4 media timeout (2:55). Woods knocked down two free throws out of the break to tie the game back at 71.
With just over 24 seconds remaining, Notre Dame inbounded the ball with about 17 seconds remaining on the shot clock. Farrell took the inbounds and waited as the clock wound down.
The senior tried to get around the corner by the Irish bench, but had to pull up with the shot clock about to expire with two defenders around him. Farrell lifted and drilled the tough three-pointer to give the Irish the lead 74-71 with 5.9 seconds remaining.
Wake Forest quickly inbounded the ball, but the clock didn’t run forcing a stoppage. The refs eventually ruled 3.6 seconds remained giving the Demon Deacons the ball at midcourt with 3.6 seconds left.
The five seconds to inbounds the ball was running out forcing Childress to try and throw the ball of Geben and give his team another chance to tie it. Geben had other plans. The senior was able to reach quickly and corral the ball before it went out of bounds forcing Childress to foul and send him to the line.
Geben calmly nailed both free throws giving Notre Dame a 76-71 win on the road. Geben finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds to the lead the Irish. Farrell passed the 1,000 point total in the win going for 21 points and six assists while Gibbs notched 20 points.
Notre Dame finished the game 25-of-57 (43.9 percent) from the field including 8-of-23 behind the arc. The Irish defense didn’t allow a Wake Forest field goal over the final eight minutes to pull off the win.
Wake Forest shot 26-of-59 (44.1 percent) overall and 9-of-26 (34.6 percent) from three-point territory. Wilbekin led the way for Danny Manning with 14 points while Childress wasn’t far behind with 13 points. Brown and Woods each contributed 12 points.
The Demon Deacons didn’t score a point over the final 2:55 after tying the game at 71.
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