Oct. 19, 2003
Rockley, Christ Church, Barbados – Chris Thomas scored 20 points and Chris Quinn added 18 to lead the Notre Dame men’s basketball team to a 93-67 victory over the Milton Keynes Lions in the opening round of the BWAI International Hoops Challenge in Barbados. The contest was played at the Sir Garfield Sobers Complex.
Thomas and Quinn led five Irish players in double figures, but it was a commitment to defense in the first three quarters (four 10 minutes quarters) that enabled the Irish to cruise to the victory. Jordan Cornette and Colin Falls each added 12 points in the win, while Torrian Jones tossed in 10 points. Jones and Tom Timmermans led the Irish with seven rebounds each, with Torin Francis and Cornette each grabbing six and five boards,respectively.
Francis was in foul trouble for most of the game as he finished with four points. He was called for three fouls in the first quarter and fouled out of the contest with 3:59 remaining in the third quarter.
Timmermans finished with eight points, while Rick Cornett was impressive with his hard-nosed play as he netted six points. Russell Carter added five points to finish off the balanced scoring attack.
The Irish jumped out to an early 20-8 lead after the first 10-minute stanza with Thomas leading the way with seven points. The Lions, however, cut into Notre Dame’s lead in the second quarter with its foul shooting as they closed the game to five points. In the quarter, Milton Keynes hit 12-of-14 from the charity stripe, but only connected on three baskets. Quinn had a big second quarter, scoring eight points.
Notre Dame, which went into the halftime locker room with a 44-27 advantage, held Milton Keynes to just seven points in the third quarter and increased its lead to 72-34 after 30 minutes. Cornette had the hot hand for the Irish in that quarter as he scored seven points.
The Irish return to action on Tuesday, October 21 when they face the Barbados National Team.