Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Irish hang on to beat Princeton
The Fighting Irish avoided the dreaded upset from a 12th seed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Barely. Bonzie Colson scored 18 points and 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 the Princeton Tigers on Thursday afternoon.
After Notre Dame’s Matt Farrell missed the front end of a one-and-one with a 5958 lead, Princeton had a chance to win on its final possession. Devin Cannady missed an open 3-pointer , and Notre Dame’s Steve Vasturia pulled down the re- bound 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 players appeared stunned walking off the floor.
Those players included Farrell, the usually clutchshooting point guard, who hit six of nine for 16 points. He wore a scowl as he nearly left the floor through the wrong exit after Cannady’s miss.
Ferrell finished with 16 points but in a game the Fighting Irish (26-9) nearly squandered an 11-point second half lead.
Notre Dame improved to 9-2 in its past 11. 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 in each of the past two seasons.
Spencer Weisz led Princeton with 15 points. The Ivy League champion Tigers (23-7) 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.”
Jordan Mathews scored 16 points to help Gonzaga (33-1) slowly pull away from South Dakota State (18-17) for a victory and avoid the first 1 vs. 16 upset in the history of the NCAA Tournament.
It looked possible for a while. The Jackrabbits, champions of the Summit League, led for the first 17 minutes and stayed in range for most of the game.
Trevon Bluiett scored 21 points and Sean O’Mara had 18 to help No. 11 seed Xavier (22-13) upset sixthseeded Maryland (24-9).
The Musketeers moved on to the second round for a third straight year.
What was he thinking? Northwestern (24-11) got its first NCAA Tournament victory, over Vanderbilt (19-16), after the Commodores’ Matthew Fisher-Davis inexplicably grabbed the Wildcats’ Bryant McIntosh on purpose, sending McIntosh to the free throw line for the go-ahead points with 15 seconds left.
Riley LaChance made a layup with 18 seconds remaining to put the ninthseeded Commodores up by one after trailing by as many as 15.
But seconds after the inbounds pass, Fisher-Davis reached out and grabbed McIntosh in the backcourt. That put eighth-seeded Northwestern in the double bonus, and McIntosh calmly swished the free throws.