Dec. 18, 2005
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) – Torin Francis had 24 points, including the last six points for Notre Dame, and added 11 rebounds as the Fighting Irish held on for a 65-63 victory over IPFW on Sunday.
The Mastodons (2-7) finished the game on a 7-0 run and had a chance to win at the end after Luke Zeller missed a 3-pointer with 7 seconds left.
IPFW called time with 3.3 seconds left and Kyle Savely threw an inbound pass to Brad Pompey, who tried to get into position for a game-winning 3. But Ryan Ayers knocked the ball out of Pompey’s hands at the buzzer.
Notre Dame (5-2) led 65-56 when Francis scored inside, his third straight basket, with 3:24 left. But the Irish didn’t score again.
The Mastodons managed to close to two points even after Quintin Carouthers, their second-leading scorer with 13 points, fouled out with 4:54 left.
Savely started the IPFW run on a three-point play, hitting a 12-footer while being fouled by Colin Falls. Pompey added a pair of free throws and a 14-foot jumper to make it 65-63.
Colin Falls scored 15 points for Notre Dame and Russell Carter had 11 points and 14 rebounds. DeWitt Scott led IPFW with 14 points, Tyler Best had 12 points and Pompey finished with 10.
The Irish led 38-30 at halftime.
Notre Dame played without leading scorer Chris Quinn (15.8 ppg), who was out with a bone bruise of the left ankle. It was just the second game the senior has missed at Notre Dame.