Photo by Rick Kimball/ISD
Notre Dame Basketball
Irish Ground Eagles 82-66 on Senior Night
March 1, 2017
2,945
It was Senior Night at Purcell Pavilion and Notre Dame forward VJ Beachem came to play. The senior scored 22 points in a 82-66 win for Notre Dame (23-7, 12-5) over Boston College (9-21, 2-15) on Wednesday evening.
The Irish had a 48-36 lead with 15:36 left to play but AJ Turner knocked in back-to-back three-pointers 39 seconds a part to bring Boston College back within 48-42. Beachem ended the run with trey from the corner to give the Irish a nine-point lead with 14:24 to play.
"It was great to have all of aunts and uncles and my grandmother there," Beachem said after the game. "It was great to get a win with my brothers the last time on this court. It was a great defensive effort and we had a lot of great open looks offensively.
"We got a lot to play for on Saturday."
Turner finished with 13 points and three boards for the visiting Eagles.
Matt Farrell extended the lead to on a corner trey, then Rex Pflueger followed it up with a three-pointer of his own for a quick 6-0 run and put the Irish up 16. Farrell finished the game with 14 points, three rebounds and three assists.
The Irish went on a 7-0 run to take a 76-56 lead with 4:30 to play on a Steve Vasturia three-pointer, which essentially put the game out of reach.
Vasturia ended his final game at home with 10 points, five rebounds and three assists.
The highlight of the night was senior walk-on Patrick Mazza entering during the final minutes of the game as he capped off the night with a dunk on Notre Dame’s last possession.
"That is sure a night to remember," Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey stated. "You couldn’t have scripted it any better. Two see the seniors have fun and you could take them out of the game to a standing ovation with a minute and a half left. We played well and then Pat Mazza – is he on Chad Ford’s draft board yet?
"Our crowd was great. Our students were great. Certainly, a great way to finish the season in front of our home crowd."
The Irish won the battle of the glass 40-36 but also held a 36-22 advantage with points scored in the paint.
Notre Dame and Boston College came out of the gate ready on to play on the offensive end of the floor. Beachem tied the game at early with three-pointer from the corner and then Colson got a quick bucket and drew the foul. The Eagles led 14-10 at the first media timeout.
Down 16-10, Farrell knocked in his first three-pointer of the game to trim the Boston College lead to three. Bowman striped Farrell, then raced to the other end and completed a three-point play to put the Eagles up 21-15 with under 9:24 remaining in the opening half.
With the Irish down 26-19, Gibbs picked Bowman and found Beachem for a two-hand slam. Beachem got an easy layup on Notre Dame’s next possession to pull the Irish within 26-23.
Notre Dame held the Eagles scoreless for over five and half minutes and went on a 15-0 run. The run was highlighted by back-to-back-to-back three-pointers by Beachem and Vasturia. Altogether, the Irish would close the first half on a 17-2 and take a 36-28 into halftime.
Beachem led the Irish with 15 points and hit three shots from deep in the first half. Robinson led Boston College with 11 points and three boards in the opening 20 minutes.
Notre Dame will travel to Louisville for a ACC showdown on Saturday, which with a Duke win, the winner could get a share of the ACC title.
"We are a very confident team. Not only with our history against them, but the last six games we’ve played. We are going to go down there and let it rip."
The Irish had a 48-36 lead with 15:36 left to play but AJ Turner knocked in back-to-back three-pointers 39 seconds a part to bring Boston College back within 48-42. Beachem ended the run with trey from the corner to give the Irish a nine-point lead with 14:24 to play.
"It was great to have all of aunts and uncles and my grandmother there," Beachem said after the game. "It was great to get a win with my brothers the last time on this court. It was a great defensive effort and we had a lot of great open looks offensively.
"We got a lot to play for on Saturday."
Turner finished with 13 points and three boards for the visiting Eagles.
Matt Farrell extended the lead to on a corner trey, then Rex Pflueger followed it up with a three-pointer of his own for a quick 6-0 run and put the Irish up 16. Farrell finished the game with 14 points, three rebounds and three assists.
The Irish went on a 7-0 run to take a 76-56 lead with 4:30 to play on a Steve Vasturia three-pointer, which essentially put the game out of reach.
Vasturia ended his final game at home with 10 points, five rebounds and three assists.
The highlight of the night was senior walk-on Patrick Mazza entering during the final minutes of the game as he capped off the night with a dunk on Notre Dame’s last possession.
"That is sure a night to remember," Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey stated. "You couldn’t have scripted it any better. Two see the seniors have fun and you could take them out of the game to a standing ovation with a minute and a half left. We played well and then Pat Mazza – is he on Chad Ford’s draft board yet?
"Our crowd was great. Our students were great. Certainly, a great way to finish the season in front of our home crowd."
The Irish won the battle of the glass 40-36 but also held a 36-22 advantage with points scored in the paint.
Notre Dame and Boston College came out of the gate ready on to play on the offensive end of the floor. Beachem tied the game at early with three-pointer from the corner and then Colson got a quick bucket and drew the foul. The Eagles led 14-10 at the first media timeout.
Down 16-10, Farrell knocked in his first three-pointer of the game to trim the Boston College lead to three. Bowman striped Farrell, then raced to the other end and completed a three-point play to put the Eagles up 21-15 with under 9:24 remaining in the opening half.
With the Irish down 26-19, Gibbs picked Bowman and found Beachem for a two-hand slam. Beachem got an easy layup on Notre Dame’s next possession to pull the Irish within 26-23.
Notre Dame held the Eagles scoreless for over five and half minutes and went on a 15-0 run. The run was highlighted by back-to-back-to-back three-pointers by Beachem and Vasturia. Altogether, the Irish would close the first half on a 17-2 and take a 36-28 into halftime.
Beachem led the Irish with 15 points and hit three shots from deep in the first half. Robinson led Boston College with 11 points and three boards in the opening 20 minutes.
Notre Dame will travel to Louisville for a ACC showdown on Saturday, which with a Duke win, the winner could get a share of the ACC title.
"We are a very confident team. Not only with our history against them, but the last six games we’ve played. We are going to go down there and let it rip."
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