Maui Madness: Irish Complete Comeback On Shockers For 67-66 Win
The championship game of the Maui Invitational got its wish and more on Tuesday night as the top two teams battled all night in an instant classic between Notre Dame (6-0) and Wichita State (4-1).
In a game where 7 of the 10 starters were seniors, Notre Dame’s seniors shined the brightest in a wild 67-66 comeback win for the Irish.
“We said we wanted to have our name up on this wall," stated Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey. "We felt our program was one of those programs that deserved to be on the Maui wall. I’m thrilled it will be there and we’ll back in four years to check it out.
“Maybe there will be a picture of me with a T-shirt on up there.”
Trailing by three with seconds remaining, Notre Dame point guard Matt Farrell stole an inbounds pass and found senior forward Bonzie Colson, who scored a game-high 25 points, for a layup to cut the score to 66-65.
Wichita State missed the front end of a 1-and-1, but Farrell was blocked on a layup attempt at the other end. However, Rex Pflueger would fight for a jump ball, and the Irish had one more shot with 3.3 seconds remaining.
Senior Martinas Geben slid down the lane on a beautiful play from head coach Mike Brey to get fouled with 2.3 seconds to go. Geben knocked home both free throws to give Notre Dame a 67-66 lead, and the Shockers never got off a final shot.
“Those free throws by Martinas," Colson said of the biggest play of the game. "Martinas has been grinding throughout this whole year. It’s great to see him show his heart and pride to make those two free throws for our program.
“We battled for the whole game. We knew it was going to come down to game situations.”
The play design drew the Shockers defense to Farrell as he ran to the corner and attention was focused on Colson and Gibbs as Geben ran down the middle of the lane.
“If I’m making shots, you have to chase me off those staggers," explained Farrell. "It was a great play by coach and we executed."
Geben finished with 12 points and five rebounds.
Zach Brown paced the Shockers with 14 points, while Landry Shamet dropped 10 points and seven assists in the loss.
"What a great college game for November," Brey said. "They are really good. We couldn’t guard them man-to-man. Thank God our zone got us back in the thing.
“I’m really proud of our group. You can tell we have guys that have played in big games and won together. For us to make a bunch of plays in the last 20 seconds to steal a win, I can’t say I’m surprised because it’s a group that’s won a lot."
After being down by as many as 16 points in the first half, Notre Dame shot 58 percent from the field in the second half and outscored the Shockers 44-29. The Irish never got the three-point shot going, but Notre Dame went inside on Wednesday night to score 38 points.
"We have guys that are fearless," stated Farrell. "I don’t know if you can say it was one play. Whoever was in the game was playing hard and trying to make the right play. Martinas was rebounding. Rex was rebounding. Everyone played really hard and we played for each other.
“There is something special about this group. We have a lot of fun with each other.”
Farrell, Geben and TJ Gibbs added buckets all in the paint, Colson chipped in two free throws to cut the Shockers lead to 46-37 with 15:30 to play.
Farrell scored 15 points and dished out four assists in the title game and was named MVP of the Maui Invitational.
"I know for a fact I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my team," Farrell said of the award. "Coach Brey has pushed me and put me in really good positions since I’ve been here. It’s really easy for me when I’m playing with Bonzie and the other guys on the floor.
“It’s surreal. It’s a lot of fun and I have family and some friends here. We’re going to enjoy it.”
The Irish would be held without a field goal for over three minutes when Colson got an easy layup that jump-started a 7-0 run over 1:32 to cut the lead to five points with just over 10 minutes to play.
Wichita State answered with two three-pointers from Zach Brown and a Shaquille Morris dunk to push the Shockers advantage to eight points.
Shamet hit a jumper to make the score 62-53 with 7:03 to play. Colson and Gibbs answered with three-pointers and held the Shockers scoreless for over three minutes to bring the game to 62-59 with 3:50 left in the game.
Pflueger knocked in two free throws for an 8-0 run, but the Irish would be held scoreless for 2:36.
Colson scored his game-high 23rd point of the game with a minute to play to cut the Shockers lead to 64-63.
The Irish and Shockers started off a little hesitant feeling each other out over the first four minutes of the game. The difference was a Brown three-pointer to give Wichita State an early 9-6 lead.
Harvey hit a jumper in the lane to end a scoring drought of over three minutes for the Irish, but Notre Dame also held the Shockers scoreless for over three minutes as well.
Willis Jr. nailed a transition three to start a 7-0 run over 2:41 for the Shockers. During the run, the Irish went scoreless for 3:11. Colson ended the drought with a layup to pull the Irish within 19-11 with just over seven minutes left in the first half.
Farrell ended a mini 6-0 run by the Shockers to pull the score to 25-14, but Frankamp nailed his second three-pointer of the game on the next possession.
With under two minutes left in the half, Wichita State held a 30-21 lead and ripped off a 7-0 run to close the half.
Frankamp led the Shockers with 12 points in the first half. Colson recorded eights points and five boards to lead the Irish in the first twenty minutes.
The Shockers defense was the story of the opening half as they held Notre Dame to just 1-for-5 from downtown and forced six Irish turnovers. Wichita State also outscored the Irish 7-0 off turnovers in the first half.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Martinas Geben. The 6-foot-10 senior scored timely points and played excellent defense on Shockers big man Shaquille Morris. Geben limited Morris to just eight points and three boards, but it was Geben’s offensive game that sealed the deal in the final seconds, as he hit the go-ahead free throws to give the Irish the victory.
STAT OF THE GAME: Notre Dame couldn’t buy a bucket for most of the first half as they shot just 40 percent from the field. The second half was a much different story as Notre Dame hit 58 percent from the field while holds Wichita State to 41 percent in the final twenty minutes.
WHAT’S NEXT: Notre Dame travels to No. 4 Michigan State on November 30th. Tip is set for 7:00 p.m. ET. on ESPN.
