Bonzie Colson (35) scored a career-best 33 points and notched 13 rebounds in Saturday’s win over Florida State. Stephanie Sokol/The Pit
In what very well could be his breakout performance this year, Bonzie Colson cruised to 33 points and 13 rebounds en route to an Irish beating of No. 14/15 Florida State, 84-72.
A finalist for the 2017 Karl Malone Award and in the top 20 for the 2017 John R. Wooden Award, Colson became the 61st player in Notre Dame history to break 1,000 career points and the third to do so this season. He joins Steve Vasturia and VJ Beachem on the list.
It was Colson’s 16th double-double on the year.
Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Brey told the media after the game that he wondered throughout the night if Colson could hit 40 points or not.
“I just felt that good about him,” said Brey. “And he’s getting it in areas where they can’t guard him, he’s sticking to three’s, making free throws. That was one of the great performances in our program history against a big-time team on national TV.”
Notre Dame (19-7, 8-5) first took the lead 2:56 into action, and led the Seminoles (21-5, 9-4) the rest of the night. Colson’s 13 rebounds played a significant role, whereas no Florida State player was able to get more than six on the night.
“It’s a good feeling right now,” Colson said after the game. “We stayed together and we emphasize having great starts offensively and defensively. I feel like we did a great job defensively on them.”
Brey credits Colson’s improved performance over the last three games to starting small. He said that playing small in heavier doses gets Colson open on the perimeter more.
“One of the things, just the adjustments we made playing small and having him out on the perimeter touching it, it has really helped him,” Brey said. “And we’ve played that way at times through the five-game win streak, but to do it in heavy doses, he’s in an unbelievable groove.”
Starters on Saturday included Colson, Vasturia, Beachem, Matt Farrell and TJ Gibbs.
Vasturia and Farrell also had big nights against the Seminoles, with both scoring 15 points. Vasturia finished with seven rebounds while Farrell had nine assists.
Something we’ve never seen in-game from Vasturia was a big breakaway one-handed dunk in the second half, leading to a new nickname of Air Vasturia.
Florida State last had the game tied with 12:44 remaining in the first at 10-10, but failed to build any momentum inside a rowdy Purcell Pavilion.
Terance Mann led the Seminoles with 15 points, while Dwayne Bacon and Trent Forrest each finished with 12 points. Xavier Rathan-Mayes finished with 11.
A team that is undefeated at home but inconsistent on the road, Florida State Head Coach Leonard Hamilton said that the Seminoles have faced very good teams that shouldn’t be taken lightly regardless of venue.
“The ACC is that kind of league. If you’re not playing your best every night out, it’s going to be very difficult to win regardless as to whether your home or on the road,” he said.
Saying that Notre Dame was flawless in execution, Hamilton added that Colson has the mentality of a point guard with the skills of a small forward.
The Seminoles have a week off before they travel to Pitt on Saturday, February 18. The Irish face Boston College on Tuesday and then NC State Saturday on the road.
Facing the bottom half of the conference over the next couple weeks, Brey said he is confident his team will be in the mix for postseason action.
