Irish Bounce Back With 77-62 Win Over Colgate
It was far from its most impressive victory of the season, but Notre Dame did enough Monday to get back on track.
Notre Dame beat Colgate 77-62 in front of 6,817 people at Purcell Pavilion, bouncing back from losses to Villanova and Purdue the past two Saturdays.
“We did what we had to do to get out of there,” head coach Mike Brey said.
The Irish turned the ball over 14 times and were outscored in the second half, but those struggles were overshadowed by a surprise homecoming by Bo Farrell, the older brother of Notre Dame junior point guard Matt Farrell. Bo Farrell was stationed in Afghanistan until recently, and Notre Dame coordinated the unexpected entrance.
Bo appeared on the video board after the game with a message to the crowd, then came out on the court and embraced his younger brother.
“I can’t wait to spend Christmas with him,” said Matt Farrell, who last saw Bo in May. “I thought it was just a Christmas message from somebody, but it caught me off guard. Coach Brey knew; I’m pissed at him. I’m pissed at the whole staff; they all knew.”
Senior wing V.J. Beachem led the way with 20 points. Farrell and junior forward Bonzie Colson both added 13 points, and Colson grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
Farrell was frustrated by the turnovers the Irish had against Colgate, which entered the contest at No. 341 in RPI. Farrell and Beachem each finished with four turnovers.
“We turned it over a little much — that’s not who we’ve been and that hurt us,” Brey said. “But we need a break, need a little break from the routine and get home with our families.”
The Irish improved to 10-2 and have just one non-conference game remaining. They will host St. Peter’s Dec. 28, three days before it’s New Year’s Eve Atlantic Coast Conference opener at Pittsburgh.
Even with back-to-back losses, Notre Dame remained ranked in the latest Associated Press poll, coming in at No. 25. That alone is cause for celebration, Brey said.
“Much better to be ranked than rank, baby,” Brey said with a laugh. “Christmas morning, I’m going to wake up and we’re in the top 25. That’s a good Christmas. Now I’ve got a lot of bullets coming at me I know in January and February. But I will take it when I can get it.”
The Irish finished with 23 assists on their 28 made field goals. Farrell had seven, while senior guard Steve Vasturia added four. Vasturia finished with seven points on 2-of-5 shooting.
Notre Dame had an unspectacular first half, tallying 10 turnovers and making just 5 of 16 three-point attempts en route to a 36-20 halftime advantage.
The Irish came out strong in the second half and led by as many as 21 with 7:23 remaining. Colgate made a run, however, shrinking the Notre Dame advantage to 65-55 with 4:09 left.
Beachem, who had only four points against Villanova and 10 points against Purdue, needed a confidence-building game, Brey said. Along with Vasturia, the Irish senior captains have to find their footing.
“[Beachem] needed to see some shots go in, no question, he needed to see some stuff go in,” Brey said. “Two seniors had a tough night [against Purdue] … we’re not getting an NCAA bid without our seniors playing well, we can’t get there without them, and I have to keep finding ways to help them and keep them in the right frame of mind to be productive for us.”
Colgate, among the worst teams in the country, fell to 2-10. The Raiders shot just 40.0 percent from the floor. Freshman forward Will Rayman led Colgate with 18 points.
“This was one of those games where you had to be focused, no students here, nobody’s on campus,” Vasturia said. “You’ve got one game and most people are going home tomorrow. For the most part we did a pretty good job of doing what we do.
“This team has a lot of expectations and we believe in ourselves, and we’re going to continue to get better. That’s one thing that coach has preached.”
The time away for Notre Dame is much needed, Brey said.
“They need to get away and get with their families, get away from the routine that we’ve been in, because that’s a lot of games in a short window,” Brey said. “Now when you come back, you’re spread out a little bit more.
“There’s things we’ve got to do better and we’ll get a chance to work on those in one non-league game before we play Pitt.”
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