Notre Dame Closes Strong Against Wichita State To Win Maui Invitational
Wichita State controlled much of the Maui Invitational final against Notre Dame for the game’s first 30 minutes before the Irish rallied back from a second half 15-point deficit to take down the Shockers 67-66 in the final seconds to claim its first Maui Invitational.
Here’s a recap of the thrilling Maui final and how Notre Dame was able to rally and pull off the shocker.
FIRST HALF
Senior big man Martinas Geben got the scoring going for the Irish after Landry Shamet opened the game with a layup.
Matt Farrell knocked down a layup with a nice hesitation as he drove to the basket to give the Irish an early 4-2 lead before Wichita State reeled off a 7-0 run to take a 9-6 lead with 15:48 left in the half.
Wichita State’s Conner Frankamp knocked down a three followed by another three via Darral Willis Jr. Notre Dame freshman wing DJ Harvey knocked down a short jumper following a spin move which was sandwiched between the two Shockers three-pointers. Gregg Marshall’s bunch held a 15-8 advantage at the halfway point of the half thanks to a 4-of-13 effort by the Irish from the floor to open the game.
Willis Jr. knocked down another jumper to help extend the Shockers lead to 19-8 via a 7-0 run over a 2:17-stretch.
Notre Dame got a much needed answer with back-to-back buckets by senior forward Bonzie Colson. But the Shockers came right back with a 6-0 run to push the lead right back up to double-digits at 25-12 with 4:33 left in the half.
The Irish responded with their own 6-2 run via baskets by Farrell, Geben and Colson to cut the deficit to 28-18 with three minutes left. A big three-pointer by Farrell put the Irish down just nine at 30-21 2:15 left to get some momentum.
Wichita State again responded finishing the half on a 7-2 run to take a 37-23 advantage into the break.
It was tough sledding for Notre Dame in the first half as Wichita State’s defense made each shot difficult and didn’t allow many second-chance opportunities for the Irish. Notre Dame shot 11-of-27 (40.7 percent) from the floor including 1-of-5 behind the arc. The Irish turned the ball over six times in the half including three by Farrell.
Sophomore guard TJ Gibbs attempted just one shot in the half after scoring a career-high against LSU in the semifinals. Colson (8) and Farrell (7) scored 15 of the team’s 23 points.
Wichita State on the other hand knocked down 15-of-30 from the field including 5-of-11 from deep. Marshall’s group moved the ball well dishing out 10 assists on its 15 baskets. Frankamp burned the Irish for 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the half.
SECOND HALF
After just the one attempt in the first half, Gibbs got the scoring going for the Irish in the second half with a quick layup.
Wichita then responded with a quick 5-0 run to push the lead back to 42-27. Notre Dame went on its own 8-2 run behind four straight points by Colson to cut the Shocker lead to nine (44-35).
The Irish continued cutting away at the lead after Gibbs knocked down two free throws and Pflueger added a jumper. Shamet and Morris however each made a basket to push the Shockers lead back up to 50-40 with 11:57 remaining in the game.
Colson, Farrell and Geben scored three straight baskets for the Irish to cut a 12-point deficient to 55-50.
Wichita State’s Zach Brown knocked down two three-points with a dunk by Shaquille Morris sandwiched in between to keep Notre Dame at bay.
Notre Dame was down 57-52 with the ball when Farrell pulled up for a three in transition that came up short. Brown converted that second three-pointer to stop the Irish momentum and take a 60-52 advantage with under 7:30 to play.
What a wild final seven minutes it would be.
The Irish went on an 8-0 behind three-pointers from Colson and Gibbs along with a pair of free throws by Pflueger to cut the lead to 62-61.
Shamet answered and then answered again after Colson knocked down another basket to make it 66-63 Wichita State with under 40 seconds remaining.
With 19 seconds remaining and Wichita State inbounding, Farrell knocked the ball away forcing a steal and found Colson for a layup to cut the lead down to one.
The Irish fouled and sent Austin Reaves to the line for the one-and-one. Reaves missed and Farrell pushed the ball up the court. The senior was blocked at the rim, but the Irish were able to force a jump ball situation which gave them one more opportunity.
Out of the timeout, Brey came up with a good inbounds pass which led to a foul on Geben after he cut to the basket.
The Lithuanian calmly converted both free throws to give the Irish their first lead at 67-66 since the early minutes of the game.
Wichita State had one more chance with under three seconds to go to break Notre Dame’s hearts. The Shockers were able to get it to Shamet, but junior guard Rex Pflueger did what he does best and that’s come up with a good defensive play. Pflueger forced Shamet to turn the ball over without getting a shot up.
Notre Dame celebrated as they overcame a 15-point second half deficit to win their first ever Maui Jim Maui Invitational in three tries. The win also gives the Irish a big resume boost over a team expected to be among the nation’s best.
The Irish shot 14-of-24 (58.3 percent) from the field in the second half after going just about 40 percent in the first. Wichita State went 12-of-29 (41.4 percent) during the final 20 minutes to allow Notre Dame to get back into after leading for almost the entire game.
Colson finished with his fourth double-double going for 25 points and 11 rebounds. Farrell notched 15 points, four rebounds and four assists while Geben put up 12 points, five rebounds and three assists.
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