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Irish Fall To Duke In ACC Tournament Quarterfinals

March 8, 2018

Notre Dame vs Duke ACC Semifinals Box Score

By Robby Hamman

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Playing its third game in as many nights, Notre Dame (20-14, 8-10 ACC) ran out of gas in the second half against a fresh Duke (26-6, 13-5 ACC) squad in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament, falling by a score of 88-70.

Senior Bonzie Colson led the Irish in scoring, posting 18 points on 9-of-17 shooting. Fellow seniors Martinas Geben and Matt Farrell also finished in double figures in the points column, finishing with 14 and 11 points, respectively. The other Notre Dame player to reach double digits in scoring was sophomore John Mooney, adding 10 points.

How It Happened

Both Notre Dame and Duke came flying out of the gates on the offensive end, combining to score 42 points by the first media timeout. The Blue Devils managed to open up a 13-point lead at the midway point of the first frame, holding a 34-21 lead.

Notre Dame responded with a 10-1 run over the next three minutes to cut the deficit to just four points with under seven minutes left in the half. Trailing by six with eight seconds left in the first, Gibbs raced up the floor and found Mooney open underneath who threw down a dunk to beat the buzzer and send the Irish into the halftime break trailing 41-37.

Despite the hot shooting in the opening 20 minutes from Duke, the Irish managed to stay in the game by outscoring the Blue Devils 24-12 in the paint and only committing one turnover.

The Irish scored the first bucket of the second stanza, cutting the lead to two points. Unfortunately for Notre Dame, that was as close as they would get the rest of the way. Duke responded with a 12-2 run to push its advantage to 53-41 with 15:30 left on the clock. The Blue Devils were in control the rest of the game, going on to win 88-70.

Notre Dame Player Of The Game

Colson battled the Duke bigs underneath the entire evening, scoring a team-high 18 points. The senior nearly notched a double-double, as he also led the team in rebounding with nine boards. Colson also paced the Irish in steals, recording three on the evening.

Notre Dame Stat Of The Game

The Irish passing and ball movement was excellent, as Notre Dame racked up season-high 25 assists. Notre Dame recorded assists on 83.3 percent of its made shots from the field. Farrell led the team with 12 assists, the most a Notre Dame player has recorded this season.

Game Notes

  • Colson posted his 19th double-digit scoring performance of the year. The senior has finished with 10-plus points in every game he has played this season.
  • With 14 points, Geben finished in double figures for the 20th time this season.
  • Farrell notched his first double-double of the season and second of his career with 11 points and 12 assists.
  • Farrell’s 12 assists were a career high for the senior.
  • Farrell has now scored 10-plus points in 25 games this season.
  • Mooney has finished with 10-plus points in eight games this season.

Up Next

Notre Dame will find out its postseason fate on Sunday, March 11.

— ND —

Robby Hamman joined Fighting Irish Media as athletics communications assistant director in September 2016, coordinating efforts for the volleyball and men’s lacrosse program. Hamman is a 2010 graduate of Bethel College, where he earned bachelor’s degrees in sport management and business administration, and earned his master’s degree in business administration from Defiance College in 2013.