BROOKLYN—Notre Dame had a good enough start that a tough second half didn’t make a difference.Bonzie Colson had 22 points and 12 rebounds for his fifth career double-double and the Fighting Irish held off Colorado 89-83 on Monday night in the semifinals of the Legends Classic at Barclays Center.
”We got off to a great start, really flowing offensively,” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. ”Second half Colorado really guarded us and we had to find different ways to play. We made free throws and it was kind of a grinding game. I’m proud of how we held people but we have a lot of guys that have won big games and have big game pressure on them. I thought that experience helped us escape tonight.”
The Fighting Irish (4-0) will play Northwestern, which beat No. 22 Texas 77-58, for the title on Tuesday.The Buffaloes (3-1) trailed by 15 points at halftime and were able to get as close as four points twice in the final minute but Notre Dame went 14 for 14 from the free throw line over the final 1:33 to keep Colorado at bay in the first meeting between the schools.Matt Farrell had 20 points and V.J. Beacham and Steve Vasturia added 17 each for Notre Dame which went 27 for 29 from the free throw line. Colson, a 6-foot-5 junior, matched his career high with the 12 rebounds.Xavier Johnson scored 23 points, Derrick White had 20 points and nine assists and George King added 17 points and 13 points for Colorado, which was able to rally in the second half by shooting 16 of 34 from the field (47.1 percent). The Buffaloes finished 18 of 19 from the free throw line.Notre Dame came out firing and gave itself a comfortable 50-35 halftime lead.The Fighting Irish shot 54.5 percent (18 of 33) from the field, including making six of 12 3-point attempts in the first half. Colorado, meanwhile, struggled from the field in the first half shooting 37.1 percent (13 of 35) from the field and only 2 of 8 from 3-point range.Notre Dame couldn’t keep up the shooting in the second half and the Buffaloes were able to make it close but the Fighting Irish sealed it at the free throw line.