Dec. 3, 2017
Notre Dame St. Francis Brooklyn Box Score
By Robby Hamman
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — No. 5/5 Notre Dame defeated St. Francis Brooklyn by a final score of 71-53 on Sunday afternoon inside Purcell Pavilion. With the win, the Irish improve to 7-1 on the season.
The Notre Dame offense was well balanced on Sunday, as five Irish players finished in double figures scoring. Senior Martinas Geben scored a team-high 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double. Bonzie Colson (13), Matt Farrell (12), T.J. Gibbs (10) and D.J. Harvey (10) all ended with 10 or more points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish got off to a slow start in the first half but closed the frame strong. Notre Dame outscored the Terriers 22-6 over the last eight minutes of play to take a commanding 18-point advantage into the half at 43-25. Colson and Geben each scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds over the first 20 minutes of action to pace the Irish.
Neither team could find any rhythm on the offensive end in the second half, as both teams went through stretches of play without able to score from the field. The Irish led by 19 at 62-43 with six minutes left in the second stanza when Colson caught a Terrier player with an inadvertent elbow and was assessed a flagrant two foul forcing him to leave the game. Head coach Mike Brey then picked up two straight consecutive technical fouls and was also ejected from the contest, marking the first time in his 23-year coaching career he has been tossed from a game.
Notre Dame controlled the game for the rest of the way and went on to win by a final score of 71-53.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Geben had the best game of his career from a statistical standpoint on Sunday, logging the first double-double over his four seasons with the Irish. The senior big man scored a career-high 14 points and tied his career-high in rebounding with 10 boards. Geben shot 4-of-6 from the field and finished a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.
NOTRE DAME STAT OF THE GAME
Notre Dame controlled the inside against the Terriers, outscoring the visitors 36-24 in the paint.
NOTES OF THE GAME
- Glenn and Stacey Murphy Head Men’s Basketball Coach Mike Brey now has 389 victories as Notre Dame’s head coach and is just five shy of passing Digger Phelps as the outright all-time program record holder.
- The Irish are now 3-0 against St. Francis Brooklyn in the all-time series.
- With 13 points in limited action, Colson has now finished in double figures in the scoring column in all eight games this season.
- Farrell has finished with 10+ points in all eight games during his senior campaign.
- After Sunday’s 3-for-5 effort from the field, Geben is shooting 77.1 percent from the floor this season, making 27-of-35 attempts.
- Gibbs has scored double-digit points in five of his eight games this season.
- With 10 points, Harvey finished with 10+ points for the third time during the 2017-18 season.
UP NEXT
The Irish have a quick turnaround, as the squad hosts intrastate foe Ball State at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Dec. 5, inside Purcell Pavilion.
— 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.