Notre Dame Pushes Past Florida State 84-69
The Irish used a late second-half surge to pick up their second straight ACC win, 84-69 over the visiting Florida State Seminoles on Saturday afternoon at Purcell Pavilion.
Matt Farrell scored a game-high 28 points in the win as the Irish improved to 15-10 overall and 5-7 in league play. The Irish shot 49 percent for the game. The Seminoles were led by M.J. Walker who scored 16 points and fell to 17-8 overall and 6-7 in ACC play. The Seminoles shot just 40 percent in the loss.
T.J. Gibbs scored 19 points, his 13th straight game in double figures.
“They were really good," Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey said of his guards. "I felt we looked like our program on the offensive end of the floor this week. The key was how we defended tonight."
A big three-pointer by Gibbs upped the Irish lead to 66-58 which got the crowd into it. The lead extended to 12 going into the final media timeout of the game with 3:57 to go.
A 12-0 run by the Irish put the game on ice as the Seminoles started to struggle mightily on offense.
"This group has been calm the whole way, even in January," said Brey. "They’re not freaking out and I don’t talk to them like that to get them there.
“They talk like a veteran and poised group. Their poise helps them in those situations. We don’t panic.”
The Irish shot 55 percent in the second half and pulled away late thanks to some big shots by Farrell.
Both teams opened the half hitting their first two shots, and the Irish looked to be comfortable. Gibbs went to the bench a few minutes into the half, holding his left knee. The Irish led 45-41 with 16 minutes left in the game after a three-point play by Phil Cofer.
Both teams then struggled to score for a few minutes, and the game remained close. A couple of good defensive plays by the Seminoles kept them in the game. A three-point play by Trent Forrest made it a two-point game with 12 minutes to play.
A three-pointer by Walker tied the game as the Irish crowd became quiet. Both teams began trading hoops, and the Irish offense began to wake up a bit. The Irish led 61-56 with just under eight minutes to play.
The Irish shot 20 of 24 from the free throw line which allowed them to stay ahead in the second half.
The Irish jumped out to a 6-0 lead after Farrell and Rex Pflueger hit three-pointers which got the crowd going early. Both teams then got very cold, going a few minutes without any points. The Irish led 7-2 with 15:45 left in the half.
“Matt keeps us confident," stated Brey. "He was due. He was practicing well and played well on Tuesday. We’re out of the injury zone and the guy is feeling good.”
Gibbs hit a corner three to give the Irish an eight-point advantage as the Seminoles lost him on an out of bounds play. The Seminoles finally got out of the early slump with a three-pointer by P.J. Savoy. The Irish were unable to build the lead as they went nearly three minutes without any points.
A three by Cofer cut the Irish lead to two as they continued to struggle to find offense. A 9-0 run gave the Seminoles the lead for the first time in the half. Pflueger stopped the run with his second three-pointer of the half. The Irish led 15-13 at the midway point of the first half.
The game began to open up as both teams began to knock down shots and go up and down the floor. Farrell’s third three-pointer of the half opened up a six-point Irish lead with about seven minutes to go in the half.
The Irish extended the lead to double digits after a putback by Pflueger. The Irish led 32-22 with 3:34 remaining in the half. The Seminoles responded with a 6-0 run which caused an Irish timeout.
The Irish led 40-34 at the half, shooting 43 percent from the field. Farrell paced the scoring with a game-high 14 points. The Seminoles shot 46 percent, and Savoy led the scoring with 11 points.
Player of the Game: Farrell. Another strong game from the senior fueled the Irish on Saturday as he made big shot after big shot.
Unsung Hero: Pflueger. The junior forward had his best game of the season, scoring 19 points and adding six rebounds and four assists. If he can play like this consistently for the remainder of the season, look out.
Up Next: The Irish travel to Chapel Hill to take on the Tar Heels Monday night at 7 P.M.
