Nittany Lions End Long Season For Irish 73-63
A big second half by TJ Gibbs with the absence of Bonzie Colson for the fourth quarter and the closing minutes of the third came up short, in Notre Dame's 73-63 loss to Penn State in the second round of the NIT.
Penn State led from start to finish in the contest, cold shooting throughout for Notre Dame and the absence of Bonzie Colson down the stretch was the story of the afternoon.
“I thought they were really good and defended us really well," said Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey. "Defensively, it was good enough for us but we couldn’t get into any offensive rhythm and Penn State is the one to give credit to. They were really good defensively.”
Notre Dame played well in the second half and ended up shooting 38 percent from the field, but Penn State’s ability to shoot three-pointers and take advantage of turnovers was the difference. The Irish were outscored 19-8 in points off turnovers, and the Nittany Lions hit five more three-pointers than the Irish.
“They have great length and size," Brey stated of Penn State's defense. "They switch a lot of stuff with athletic guys. They’re really an athletic group. The size of the perimeter players gave us problems, especially Matt (Farrell.). They’re doubling and there was a lot of length around him.
“People have come after him and taken him away. They did a very good job tonight of taking him away.”
Colson paced the Irish for much of the game and recorded 16 points and nine rebound in just three-quarters of play. Gibbs tried his best to fill Colson’s void. He tallied 12 of his 17 points in the second half.
"He felt some discomfort in the third quarter," Brey said of Colson's injury. "We are going to X-ray it at 3 o'clock and I’m hoping for the best. He was moving great on it the last couple weeks and had a great practice the last two days.”
Penn State had four players score in double digits in the contest. Tony Carr paced the Nittany Lions with 24 points, four rebounds and four assists. Josh Reaves was a good compliment and recorded 18 points and nine rebounds.
A two-handed dunk by Martinas Geben followed by a block on the other end that resulted in a TJ Gibbs three-pointer gave the Irish some life and cut the lead to just eight, 67-59 with two minutes left in the game. This was the last burst of life from the Irish.
This wasn’t enough because Penn State responded as they had all game with a Carr three-pointer, which extended the lead by to 11.
Sparked by a two-handed dunk by Geben to open the quarter, Notre Dame started the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run, that forced a Penn State timeout after a deep three-pointer by TJ Gibbs off an offensive rebound. This cut the lead to just seven for Penn State, 50-43.
A back door layup converted by Farrell with 7:26 left in the game pulled the lead by to just seven, but Penn State found offense and went on a quick 7-0 run sparked by a Carr jumper, followed by an old-fashioned three-pointer by Stevens.
Notre Dame ended the run with two free throws by Geben but was still without a field goal for over three minutes until Farrell hit a deep three-pointer with 4:27 left in the contest.
Coming out of the half, Colson got the Irish on the board first with a smooth, up and under kissing the ball off the backboard for two points. Penn State countered with a pair of free throws at the other end. Forcing a turnover on the Nittany Lions next offensive possession by the Irish resulted in an easy layup by Gibbs. This cut the lead to three, 30-27, but an offensive burst sparked by a Garner three-pointer the Nittany Lions extended the lead to eight, 37-29 at the 4:59 mark in the third quarter.
Out of the timeout, Colson converted a layup through contact but missed the free throw. A Reaves offensive burst after a quick bucket by Colson, extended the Nittany Lion lead to 11, 42-31. Reaves hit a long step back three and followed it up with a steal and a layup on the other end.
This forced a Notre Dame timeout, and out of the timeout, the Irish responded with an easy layup by Pflueger. Garner responded with his third three-pointer of the game. Colson responded however in a burst of fast-paced offense with a three of his own. This was the first Irish three-pointer of the afternoon.
Penn State continued their hot third quarter shooting and ended the third quarter on a 5-0 run including another, Garner three at the buzzer.
Notre Dame goes into the fourth quarter down 14, 50-36.
After two quick free throws by Geben for the Irish to open the second quarter, the Irish went over two minutes without a point. That was until, Geben at the 7:37 mark got a feed inside and rose up for a two-handed dunk. Despite three free throws by Gibbs for the Irish at the 5:10 mark, Notre Dame went over three minutes, Colson ended the drought with a mid-range jumper. Despite the cold shooting, the Irish are still in the game outscoring the Nittany Lions, 9-5 up until the 3:35 mark in the second quarter.
Colson’s jumper got the Irish going sparking a 6-0 run until a media timeout was called. Following up his jumper on Notre Dame’s next possession, Colson got to the line and hit both from the charity strike. Penn State inbounded the ball following the free throws, and Gibbs stole the inbounds pass, found Farrell for a running jumper to cut the Penn State lead to just three, 26-23 with 1:49 left in the first half.
Out of the timeout, Carr ended Penn State’s scoring drought with a floater that was blocked by Colson and called for a goaltending.
To end the second quarter Notre Dame could not extend their run and went into the half down, 28-23. Notre Dame, however, outscored Penn State, 13-7 in the second quarter to cut into the lead. The Irish shot just 25 percent from the field in the first half. Notre Dame is also 0-7 from behind the arch. Notre Dame has outrebounded Penn State 25-19 which has helped record 14 points in the paint.
Bonzie Colson is pacing the Irish with seven points and eight rebounds. Colson is just one for six from the field, but his energy on both ends of the floor is helping the Irish stay within reach.
Penn State is not shooting much better just 30 percent from the field, but they have hit four three-pointers. Tony Carr is pacing the Nittany Lions with nine points and four rebounds.
Turnovers were the downfall for Notre Dame early on in the opening minutes of the first quarter. The Irish went the first three minutes of the game with one shot attempts to Penn State’s six. A block on the Geben led to a breakaway dunk by Stevens for the first points of the game for either team. The Nittany Lions went on a 6-1 run taking advantage of the sloppy play of the Irish. Bonzie Colson recorded all three of Notre Dame’s points from the free throw line.
Farrell was able to convert the Irish’s first field goal with five minutes left in the first quarter on baseline reverse layup. This countered two free throws by Carr for Penn State. Despite the cold shooting and lack of rhythm on offense, Notre Dame was only down three, 8-5 at the 4:27 mark in the opening quarter going into a timeout.
Out of the timeout, Notre Dame converted a bucket on two of their first three possessions. On a Gibbs contested layup and a wide put Torres dunk on a feed from Farrell. After a quick offensive burst by Notre Dame, Penn State got hot from the field and went on a 10-3 run to end the quarter. The Nittany Lions converted consecutive threes by Garner and Reaves to make it a 19-10 game with 30 seconds left in the opening quarter. In the closing seconds off a steal, Garner went coast to coast for a layup to close the quarter on an 8-0 run.
Penn State led 21-10 after the first quarter.
