Irish Fall in Indy to Purdue 86-81

The 21st-ranked Irish took on 15th-ranked Purdue, Saturday afternoon at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis at the Crossroads Classic. After a strong first half, the Irish fell apart down the stretch losing a tough 86-81 decision to the Boilermakers. The Irish led by 14 at half but Purdue outscored them 48-29 in the second half.

Purdue was led by Caleb Swanigan who had 26 points, meanwhile Bonzie Colson had 23 for the Irish. The Irish struggled on the boards in the second half as Purdue scored a lot of second chance points led by Swanigan and Vince Edwards who had 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Purdue opened the second half on a 12-2 run to get the Notre Dame lead down to four as Vincent Edwards scored on a put back after a missed three. Bonzie Colson ended the run with a three-point play as Caleb Swanigan picked up his third foul of the game. Purdue answered right back with five straight points to cut the lead to two with 14:55 left in the game.

The Irish went back up to eight after Farrell found Austin Torres for an open layup underneath. The Boilermakers took their first lead of the game after a transition three by Ryan Cline to give them a 67-65 lead. Purdue used a 10-0 run to take the lead. The Irish were dominated on the offensive glass by Vince Edwards and Swanigan who combined for 40 points to that point.

The Boilermakers led 74-72 with 7:44 to play going into the tv timeout after Beachem lost control of a defensive rebound. Purdue continued their strong second half extending their lead to eight, but the Irish cut it to three after a three-point play by Farrell to make it 80-77 with 4:35 to go.

Both teams went cold for a few minutes until Bonzie Colson cut the Boilermaker lead to one with ninety seconds to go. However, Swanigan answered back with a dunk down the other end. Steve Vasturia who struggled from the field all afternoon fouled out with a minute left to play. After a Ryan missed three, Purdue iced the game from the line.

After a tough game against Villanova, V.J. Beachem opened this one with a corner three. Beachem and Bonzie Colson opened the game making their first two shots as the Irish started the game on a 9-3 run. Carsen Edwards started the game hot for the Boilermakers, making a transition layup and finding Caleb Swanigan for a two-handed flush as Purdue tied the game up.

Both teams traded baskets early on, with the Irish holding a 16-13 advantage with 11:02 left in the half. As he typically does, Matt Farrell controlled the pace for the Irish finding Martinas Geben for a transition dunk. The Irish maintained the lead thanks to some solid passing, Vasturia making a couple of nice plays including finding Farrell for a three pointer. Notre Dame led 28-19 and the next tv timeout with 7:02 remaining in the half.

The Irish shot very well in the first half, extending their lead to 37-25 with 4:46 left in the half after a Vasturia three. The lead would have been more but the Boilermakers got a lot of second chance points thanks to their offensive rebounding. But the Irish continued to be in command with back to back threes by Farrell and Matt Ryan the ACC's leader in three-point percentage.

The Notre Dame lead ballooned to 17 late in the first half and they continued to shoot the lights out. They reached the 50-point mark as V.J. Beachem threw down a vicious tomahawk dunk. The Irish led at the half 52-38, shooting 60 percent and led by Farrell's 12 points. The Boilermakers shot just 40 percent and were led by Caleb Swanigan who had 13 points.