Photo by Rick Kimball/ISD
Notre Dame Basketball
Notre Dame Holds Off Fort Wayne 87-72
December 6, 2016
2,401
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame (9-0) knew the visiting Fort Wayne (7-3) wasn’t a team to take lightly after the Mastodons knocked off Indiana in November. The Irish used an impressive defensive effort to avoid the upset 87-72 on Tuesday night.
The Irish held off a late surge from the Mastodons and a lack of offense, as Notre Dame was held without a field goal for the last 6:36 of the game. However, it was Notre Dame’s free throw shooting that sealed the deal, as the nation’s leader from the charity strip went 20 of 23 (87%) for the game.
"They made a run in the second half and they’re a good team," Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey said post game. "We were poised, adjusted and figured it out.
"The combination of guarding and then grinding them a little bit. One of things we talked about last Tuesday in the first half – I thought our offensive efficiency wasn’t as good because we were so excited to play. We played fast. We hurried. We took some bad shots.
"I thought we were more methodical offensively in the first half and the combination of that with our defense gave us great breathing room."
"He is just really confident and growing," stated Brey. "Some of the stuff he is doing outside the arc, step back threes, I just want to let him keep blossoming and not over coach him. He’s in an amazing frame of mind for us right now. It’s just a matter of when do I post him?
"I thought we did a good job of getting him touches in the post to change it up."
The Mastodons were lead by Mo Evans and his 25 points and five rebounds. John Konchard added 18 points and nine boards for Fort Wayne in 40 minutes.
Fort Wayne did show some life in the middle of the second half. Mo Evans, the Mastodons leading scorer (18.1ppg) hit two three-pointers and Kason Harrell added a triple to pull within 20 at 68-48 with 10:18 left in the game.
Notre Dame would see the Mastodons trim the lead to 81-72 with 2:28 left to play after a stretch where Fort Wayne hit 7 of 7 shots, including three straight buckets by Xzavier Taylor.
After the initial buckets by both teams, Notre Dame locked down the Fort Wayne offense. The Mastodons were held scoreless for a 3:36 stretch as the home team took a 7-3 lead at the first media timeout.
The Irish continued to frustrate the Mastodons, as they would hold the visitors to just 22 percent shooting over the first 10 minutes of the game. Notre Dame processed to get hot with Pflueger and Colson hitting back-to-back threes to push the Irish lead to 26-12.
Colson led the home squad with 13 points and nine rebounds in the first half, while Beachem and Vasturia chipped in seven points apiece.
Notre Dame would then take an 18-point lead with 3:21 left in the half after Ryan and Vasturia hit shots from behind the arc with in 26 seconds and then Beachem capped off the run with a three-pointer of his own.
Freshman John Mooney played the last two minutes of the first half and was all hustle with two rebounds and a tip dunk at the buzzer to end the half to put the Irish up 41-23.
Konchar led Fort Wayne with 11 points on 4 of 5 from the floor in the opening 20 minutes.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Steve Vasturia finished the night with 21 points, four rebounds, two assists and zero turnovers. The senior had a quiet 21 points, but went 8 for 8 from the free throw line.
STAT LINE OF THE GAME: Notre Dame went 20 of 23 from the foul line on the night. The second half was rough, as Notre Dame didn’t hit a field goal for 6:36, but eight free throws down the stretch to seal the deal.
TURNING POINT: Vasturia and Ryan hitting back-to-back treys killed any momentum and hopes Fort Wayne had of hanging around in the first half. The Irish led 26-15 after a Konchar three-pointer with 8:26 left in the half, but Ryan countered with a three and just 26 seconds later, the 11-point lead went to 17 points with just over seven minutes left in the half.
WHAT’S NEXT: It will be showtime the next time the Irish take the floor, as they will head to Newark (N.J.) to take on the Villanova, the No. 1 team in the country and defending National Champions. The good news for Notre Dame is the game will be played on a neutral floor at the Prudential Center, but it will be the first stiff test of the season for the Irish.
"How lucky is CBS to have this game and a buzz they can talk about for a couple days with two 9-0 teams and us emerging," said Brey. "It’s a noon game with Rafferty doing the game. It’s kind of like an NCAA Tournament atmosphere. I heard they sold a lot of tickets.
"Our guys were talking about it right after the game. We’re really excited."
The Irish held off a late surge from the Mastodons and a lack of offense, as Notre Dame was held without a field goal for the last 6:36 of the game. However, it was Notre Dame’s free throw shooting that sealed the deal, as the nation’s leader from the charity strip went 20 of 23 (87%) for the game.
"They made a run in the second half and they’re a good team," Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey said post game. "We were poised, adjusted and figured it out.
"The combination of guarding and then grinding them a little bit. One of things we talked about last Tuesday in the first half – I thought our offensive efficiency wasn’t as good because we were so excited to play. We played fast. We hurried. We took some bad shots.
"I thought we were more methodical offensively in the first half and the combination of that with our defense gave us great breathing room."
He’s in an amazing frame of mind for us right now.
Bonzie Colson has been the story so far in 2016 and he continued his great play on Tuesday night with his sixth consecutive double-double, as he finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds."He is just really confident and growing," stated Brey. "Some of the stuff he is doing outside the arc, step back threes, I just want to let him keep blossoming and not over coach him. He’s in an amazing frame of mind for us right now. It’s just a matter of when do I post him?
"I thought we did a good job of getting him touches in the post to change it up."
The Mastodons were lead by Mo Evans and his 25 points and five rebounds. John Konchard added 18 points and nine boards for Fort Wayne in 40 minutes.
Fort Wayne did show some life in the middle of the second half. Mo Evans, the Mastodons leading scorer (18.1ppg) hit two three-pointers and Kason Harrell added a triple to pull within 20 at 68-48 with 10:18 left in the game.
Notre Dame would see the Mastodons trim the lead to 81-72 with 2:28 left to play after a stretch where Fort Wayne hit 7 of 7 shots, including three straight buckets by Xzavier Taylor.
After the initial buckets by both teams, Notre Dame locked down the Fort Wayne offense. The Mastodons were held scoreless for a 3:36 stretch as the home team took a 7-3 lead at the first media timeout.
The Irish continued to frustrate the Mastodons, as they would hold the visitors to just 22 percent shooting over the first 10 minutes of the game. Notre Dame processed to get hot with Pflueger and Colson hitting back-to-back threes to push the Irish lead to 26-12.
Colson led the home squad with 13 points and nine rebounds in the first half, while Beachem and Vasturia chipped in seven points apiece.
Notre Dame would then take an 18-point lead with 3:21 left in the half after Ryan and Vasturia hit shots from behind the arc with in 26 seconds and then Beachem capped off the run with a three-pointer of his own.
Freshman John Mooney played the last two minutes of the first half and was all hustle with two rebounds and a tip dunk at the buzzer to end the half to put the Irish up 41-23.
Konchar led Fort Wayne with 11 points on 4 of 5 from the floor in the opening 20 minutes.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Steve Vasturia finished the night with 21 points, four rebounds, two assists and zero turnovers. The senior had a quiet 21 points, but went 8 for 8 from the free throw line.
STAT LINE OF THE GAME: Notre Dame went 20 of 23 from the foul line on the night. The second half was rough, as Notre Dame didn’t hit a field goal for 6:36, but eight free throws down the stretch to seal the deal.
TURNING POINT: Vasturia and Ryan hitting back-to-back treys killed any momentum and hopes Fort Wayne had of hanging around in the first half. The Irish led 26-15 after a Konchar three-pointer with 8:26 left in the half, but Ryan countered with a three and just 26 seconds later, the 11-point lead went to 17 points with just over seven minutes left in the half.
WHAT’S NEXT: It will be showtime the next time the Irish take the floor, as they will head to Newark (N.J.) to take on the Villanova, the No. 1 team in the country and defending National Champions. The good news for Notre Dame is the game will be played on a neutral floor at the Prudential Center, but it will be the first stiff test of the season for the Irish.
"How lucky is CBS to have this game and a buzz they can talk about for a couple days with two 9-0 teams and us emerging," said Brey. "It’s a noon game with Rafferty doing the game. It’s kind of like an NCAA Tournament atmosphere. I heard they sold a lot of tickets.
"Our guys were talking about it right after the game. We’re really excited."
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