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Purdue Downs Notre Dame 86-81 In Crossroads Classic

Junior guard Matt Farrell scored a career-high 22 points in the loss to the Boilermakers.
Junior guard Matt Farrell scored a career-high 22 points in the loss to the Boilermakers. (Corey Bodden)

INDIANAPOLIS — Notre Dame has proven it can build leads on the top-level teams it has faced this season. But for the second straight week the Irish blew a double-digit advantage, falling to in-state rival Purdue 86-81 in the Crossroads Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

“We’re not in the league of the two high-level teams we’ve played,” head coach Mike Brey said. “I told them that. We’ve got a nice team, I love our team, we’re not in their league right now.”

Notre Dame has now lost back-to-back games and now stands at 9-2 entering Monday’s game against Colgate. The 21st-ranked Irish lost last week to No. 1 Villanova.

Thanks to some hot shooting and strong efforts by junior point guard Matt Farrell, junior forward Bonzie Colson and senior wing V.J. Beachem, Notre Dame built a 17-point lead in the first half and led 52-38 at the half.

But like last year’s Crossroads Classic game against Indiana — in which Notre Dame led by 16 before losing 80-73 — the Irish fell apart after halftime. Purdue limited Notre Dame to 29 second-half points on just 38.2-percent shooting, taking its first lead at the 10:28 mark on a transition three-pointer by Ryan Cline.

“Tough one to swallow for us,” Brey said. “But give Purdue credit. I thought they really guarded the heck out of us in the second half and we had a hard time dealing with them, didn’t do enough tough stuff in the paint. Tough one to swallow because we had played well enough, and I love the start we got off to.”

Purdue got its first win in six tries in the Crossroads Classic, while Notre Dame dropped to 3-3 in the event.

Brey said Notre Dame’s offensive movement was poor in the second half. The 17th-year coach took the blame for that, noting that he could have kept the Irish more organized during the second-half drought. Purdue began the second half on a 12-2 run, energizing the pro-Boilermakers crowd.

“I feel like we got comfortable at halftime, just like we did in the Villanova game,” said Farrell, who tied his career high with 22 points and added 10 assists. “We can’t get comfortable, we’ve got to take people’s hearts, especially if we’re up by 15. We’ve got to make that jump and extend the lead.”

Senior guard Steve Vasturia struggled Saturday, tallying just three points, three assists and two rebounds before fouling out. Against teams like Purdue and in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Brey said Notre Dame can’t sustain subpar performances from any of its core players.

“Steve was trying so hard, I feel for him,” Brey said. “He had a tough night. For us to beat really good teams like the last two Saturdays, our big four all have to play really well. We didn’t have that. We’ll go to work on that in the next couple weeks before we have to play our opener in the ACC.”

After a strong start, Beachem tailed off. He finished with just 10 points and four rebounds, and he and Vasturia failed to score in the second half.

Colson finished with a team-high 23 points and 10 rebounds.

“We can’t beat other teams just by offense, we’ve got to be able to stop and be able to rebound,” he said.

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IRISH NEED TOUGHNESS

According to Farrell, toughness was the difference against the Boilermakers (9-2).

“It’s just toughness, and we didn’t get stops down the end,” said Farrell, who was part of a defensive effort that allowed 48 points in the second half. “That’s something we have to build on. It’s two times in a row where we’ve had leads and it’s came down to defensive rebounding and we haven't done that.”

Brey spoke about his team’s need for defensive improvement.

“Our interior defense and defensive rebounding is going to be a key,” Brey said. “I thought that would be an issue I’d be worried about. It was an issue I worried about in October. We’ve made progress, don’t get me wrong. We’ve made progress, but when we really start to play up, it’s got to be better and that’s an area we have to address over the next couple weeks.”

Colson said Notre Dame — which has led at halftime in every game this season — has to somehow find a way to close out games.

“It’s your heart, your mind,” Colson said. “Just have to play a little harder and play defense trying not to foul. I don’t know what it is, we’ve just got to get better in that department.

“Who are we going to be as a team? We’re going to have to fight adversity, we’re going to have to stay together. I wouldn’t say I’m tired of saying it’s a learning experience, but we’ve got to toughen up and battle a little more and see who we’re going to be right now.”

GEBEN SHINES IN FIRST HALF

Martinas Geben recorded a season-high nine points, doing all of his scoring all in the first half while grabbing four rebounds. The junior big man finished the game with six rebounds and added three assists.

“I don’t think they were quite prepared for our offense and I was trying to be active and do my best,” Geben said. “I think they tightened up their defense and knew what to expect.”

Purdue certainly adjusted, holding Geben scoreless in the second half as the Boilermakers outscored the Irish 48-29 in the second half.

“Have to give them credit,” Geben said. “They’re a great team to be ranked where they are. It doesn’t come out of nowhere. They’re a very competitive team and they woke up and started playing better and we didn’t answer the challenge.”

Purdue sophomore big man Caleb Swanigan seemingly did what he wanted inside going for a game-high 26 points and tied for the game high in rebounds with 10. Geben referenced Notre Dame not being prepared for Purdue’s interior and rebounding.

“We knew what we were going up against,” Geben said. “It was definitely a challenge for us, but I don’t think we were quite prepared and a lot of things added up for us to lose at the very end of the game.”

Notre Dame did win the points in the paint battle 46-42 — but lost the overall rebounding 40-30, which was a key factor late in the game.

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