Dec. 19, 2017
Notre Dame Dartmouth Box Score
By Robby Hamman
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Bonzie Colson, a preseason consensus All-American, played one of his best games in a Notre Dame jersey on Tuesday evening. The senior forward scored a career-high 37 points to propel the Irish (9-3) to a 97-87 victory over Dartmouth.
Fellow senior Matt Farrell also had an impressive evening, pouring in 22 points. Other Notre Dame players to reach double figures were Martinas Geben (13 points) and Rex Pflueger (13 points).
HOW IT HAPPENED
Notre Dame took a seven-point advantage into the half with the score 46-39. The Irish went on a key 11-0 run in the latter stages of the first frame to help build the lead. Notre Dame shot 16-of-29 from the floor over the opening 20 minutes of play and went 10-of-12 from the free-throw line.
The Irish stretched their lead to as many as 16 points in the second stanza but Dartmouth refused to go away quietly. The guests cut the Notre Dame lead to three at 82-79 with under five minutes to play. However, Colson was too good for the Big Green on Tuesday, as the senior scored the next five points to push the lead back to eight points. The Irish went on to win by a final of 97-87.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Colson continued his excellent run of play, scoring a career-high 37 points and grabbing 11 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season. Colson’s 37-point explosion marks the most points from an Irish player since Luke Harangody also scored 37 against Cincinnati (2/4/2010). The forward tied Duke’s Grayson Allen for most points in a game during the 2017-18 season by an ACC player. Colson’s performance is the sixth 30-plus point performance by an ACC player this season.
The senior got his 37 points by going 15-of-21 from the field, including a 3-for-5 effort from beyond the arc and a 4-of-5 effort from the free-throw line. Colson also added three steals and two blocks to complete his magnificent performance.
NOTRE DAME STAT OF THE NIGHT
The Irish shot 57.6 percent from the field against the Big Green, finishing 34-for-59. Tuesday’s performance marks the team’s second-best field-goal percentage of the season, only trailing the win over Chicago State (62.1 percent).
NOTES OF THE GAME
- Brey now has 391 victories as Notre Dame’s head coach and is just three shy of passing Digger Phelps as the outright all-time program record holder.
- The Irish improve to 6-0 against Dartmouth in the all-time series.
- Notre Dame outrebounded the Big Green 35-25.
- The Irish outscored Dartmouth 38-24 in the paint.
- Colson pulled down 11 rebounds and surpassed the 800-rebound milestone for his career, as he now has 806 rebounds. The senior is the ninth player in program history to score at least 1,400 points and grab 800 rebounds.
- Colson has now finished in double figures in the scoring column in all 12 games this season and extended his active streak to 29 consecutive games.
- The 37-point effort marks the first time Colson has scored 30-plus points this season and third time in his career.
- Colson posted his seventh double-double of the season and 30th of his career, passing former standout Toby Knight for 14th in program history.
- After scoring 22 points against the Big Green, Farrell has finished with 20-plus points in three games this season.
- Geben turned in his fifth double-digit scoring performance of the year with 13 points on Tuesday.
- For the fourth time this season and seventh in his career, Pflueger finished with 10-plus points, scoring 13 against Dartmouth.
UP NEXT
The Irish play their final game before the team heads home for a short Christmas break against Southeastern Louisiana at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 21, inside Purcell Pavilion. The game will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.
— 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.