Irish hang on, beat Princeton,
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Notre Dame avoided the dreaded upset from a No. 12 seed in the first round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Barely.
Bonzie Colson scored 18 points as the West Region’s fifth-seeded Fighting Irish avoided a meltdown in the final two minutes to hang on for a 60-58 win over Princeton on Thursday afternoon.
After Notre Dame’s Matt Farrell missed the front end of a one-and-one trip to the freethrow line with a 59-58 lead, the Tigers had a chance to win on their final possession. Devin Cannady missed an open 3-pointer, though, and Notre Dame’s Steve Vasturia pulled down the rebound and was fouled.
“We gave everybody a show, right?” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. “We escaped. We’ve been in a lot of games like that where game situations need a big defensive stop. We’ve been there. I’m proud we’re still alive.”
The Fighting Irish (26-9), who led by 11 points in the second half, appeared stunned walking off the floor. That included Farrell, the usually clutch-shooting point guard, who finished 6-of-9 from the field and 1-for-3 from the foul line in a 16-point performance. He wore a scowl as he nearly left the floor through the wrong exit after Cannady’s miss.
Notre Dame won for the ninth time in its past 11 games. The Fighting Irish have also won seven of nine tournament games over the past three years, and they are the only team to reach the Elite Eight each of the past two seasons.
Spencer Weisz scored 15 points to lead the Tigers (23-7). The Ivy League champions had a 19-game winning streak going into the NCAA tournament.
“We had a shot,” Princeton coach Mitch Henderson said. “Right now, this one hurts. When you’re in the locker room, it’s hard to say a proper ‘thank you,’ because it feels like goodbye.”
Cannady thought his shot was on target.
“I looked at the rim, and when it went out of my hand, I thought it was good,” said Cannady, who shot 2-for-10 from 3-point range and finished with seven points. “But it didn’t go in. It happens when you take those kinds of shots.”
The Tigers, who were making their 25th tournament appearance, lost in the first round for the fourth straight time. They haven’t won in the big bracket since beating UNLV 69-57 as a No. 5 seed in 1998, but they have a reputation for making things tough on highly seeded teams.
“This team has been punched in the face a little through the season, but they always responded,” Henderson said. “They did a great job. I was pleased with the chances we had.”