Notre Dame Gets Warm In 83-56 Win
Notre Dame and Chaminade opened Monday night’s game on fire. Both teams were 3-of-4 from three-point range in the first four minutes of the game, but it was the Matt Farrell and Bonzie Colson show for the rest of the night. Farrell scored a career-high 27 points, and Colson added 21 points and eight rebounds in an 83-56 win.
"Matt and Bonzie set the tone," said Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey following the win. "They’re our veteran guys. Some guys were a little excited in this atmosphere, I thought those two guys really settled in."
Colson and Farrell shot a combined 17-of-23 from the field, which included 5-of-8 from three-point range. For Farrell, it would also extend his streak to 30 consecutive games with a made three-pointer.
"We have a lot of confidence," said Farrell. "We tell guys if they have an open shot to take it. If you miss it, then you run back down and get a stop.
"We enjoy playing with each other and we have fun playing with each other."
Chaminade guard Austin Pope would make things interesting as he nailed a three-pointer to start the second half to cut the Irish lead to six points at 38-32.
Pope finished the night with 11 points and seven rebounds for the Silverswords.
"We absorbed that running three at halftime and a deep three to start the second half," Brey said. "I’m starting to think ‘This could be an interesting night.’
"We settled in and really defended."
Notre Dame’s veterans made quick work of Chaminade having any hope of an upset, as Colson got a quick bucket and Farrell scored a quick five points to push the lead back to 11 points with 17:13 left to play.
Holding a 47-36 lead with 14:52 to play, Notre Dame went on a 10-4 run over 2:10 to push the lead to 17 points. Colson scored four points, and TJ Gibbs added a breakaway layup.
"We wanted to come out and shoot with confidence," Colson said of the Irish offense. "In shoot around, we concentrated on our shots and getting into a good rhythm. It’s great to gets stops on defense and shoot with confidence on offense."
The Irish then used a 12-2 run over five minutes of action to push the lead to 65-42. Freshman DJ Harvey completed a three-point play, and Gibbs added five points during the run.
"I was very impressed with DJ Harvey," Brey stated. "He continues to give us great stuff of the bench and only getting more confident."
On the night, Notre Dame shot 54 percent (28/52) from the field and held Chaminade to just 35 percent (24/68). The Silverswords shot just 24 percent (7-29) from downtown while the Irish shot 45% (9/20).
"I’m thrilled with our start," stated Brey. "I thought our defense was excellent. This team has wanted to have a defensive identity. I think they shot 35 percent. We really moved our feet and defended well. We talked about defending to get to the championship game."
Early in the season, your offense can look up and down, left and right, but can we rely on our defense. I was pleased with our start.
Notre Dame’s bench came up with 18 points on the night as Harvey ended his night with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting to go with two rebounds and two assists.
Erik Schieve led Chaminade with 17 points five boards.
Pope hit a jumper at 14:05 mark to cut the Irish lead to 17-14. The Irish defense would tighten up from that point on as Notre Dame held the Silverswords without points for 6:55 and just 0-of-12 from the field to take a 26-14 lead.
During the stretch, sophomore forward John Mooney would provide some nice minutes for the Irish. Mooney would hit a three from the corner and grab three rebounds in just five minutes.
Brett Reed finally put the ball in the basket for Chaminade with 7:08 left in the first half. Harvey quickly answered with a three-pointer to push the lead to 32-20 following another Farrell jumper.
Farrell finished the first half with 16 points and three assists. Colson added 11 points and three rebounds.
Notre Dame shot 5-of-10 from downtown but also held a 7-0 advantage in fast-break points. Chaminade held its own on the boards in the first half with a 17-16 advantage.
The Irish held a 38-26 lead with three seconds left in the opening half, but Reed would hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to cut the lead to 38-29 at the half.
Reed scored five points and pulled down five boards in the first half, while Braden Koelliker led the Silverswords with seven points.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Matt Farrell. The senior point guard came out aggressive as he scored 12 points in the first six minutes of the game. Farrell was 9-of-12 from the field and 4-of-7 from behind the arc.
STAT OF THE GAME: Notre Dame went 18-for-26 from the free throw line compared to Chaminade going 1-for-4. The ability to penetrate and get to the line against a less athletic team was the goal all night.
WHAT’S NEXT: Notre Dame will play the winner of the LSU-Michigan game on Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
