Friday, March 17, 2017
Associated Press
BUFFALO, N.Y.
The Fighting Irish avoided the dreaded upset from a 12th seed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Barely.
Bonzie Colson scored 18 points and the West Region’s fifth-seeded Fighting Irish avoided a meltdown in the final two minutes to hang on for a 60-58 win over the Princeton Tigers on Thursday afternoon.
After Notre Dame’s Matt Farrell missed the front end of a one-and-one with a 59-58 lead, Princeton had a chance to win on its final possession. Devin Cannady missed an open 3-pointer , and Notre Dame’s Steve Vasturia pulled down the rebound and was fouled.
“We gave everybody a show, right?” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. “We escaped. We’ve been in a lot of games like that where game situations need a big defensive stop. We’ve been there. I’m proud we’re still alive.”
The Fighting Irish players appeared stunned walking off the floor.
Those players included Farrell, the usually clutch-shooting point guard, who hit six of nine for 16 points. He wore a scowl as he nearly left the floor through the wrong exit after Cannady’s miss.
Ferrell finished with 16 points but in a game the Fighting Irish (26-9) nearly squandered an 11-point second half lead.
Notre Dame improved to 9-2 in its past 11. The Fighting Irish have also won seven of nine tournament games over the past three years, and they are the only team to reach the Elite Eight in each of the past two seasons.
Notre Dame led 59-54 with 1:10 left when Colson hit a pair of free throws.
The Tigers scored the next two baskets. Pete Miller put back a missed Cannady 3-pointer with 54 seconds left.
Farrell missed a 14-footer, and the Tigers cut the lead to 1 when Miller scored again, this time putting back a miss by Steven Cook.
“No matter how it looked, we got the win and that’s all that matters,” Colson said.
Spencer Weisz led Princeton with 15 points. The Ivy League champion Tigers (23-7) had a 19-game winning streak going into the NCAA Tournament.
“We had a shot,” Princeton coach Mitch Henderson said. “Right now, this one hurts. When you’re in the locker room, it’s hard to say a proper ‘Thank you,’ because it feels like goodbye.”