Bonzie Colson scored 20 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for yet another double-double as he led No. 21/17 Notre Dame to a 64-60 victory over Georgia Tech.
The ACC-leader in double-doubles proved key in the matchup not just in scoring, but by forcing turnovers and capitalizing on those turnovers. The Fighting Irish (22-7, 11-5 ACC) forced 14 turnovers and scored 11 points because of it.
“He’s come so far as a defender since he got here,” Irish coach Mike Brey said of Colson’s defensive growth. “He was having to help his teammates get through that handoff at the elbow all night and sometimes he switched it. He talks on defense, he knows what he’s talking about. He can make an impact on both ends and he did tonight.”
Colson was 8-of-14 with a 3-of-3 mark from beyond the arc with a single trip to the free-throw line. He finished with a pair of blocks and a pair of steals.
Notre Dame entered Sunday evening’s contest after having eight days off, but there were no worries for the Irish finding their groove. The Irish led for 34:32, taking the lead just over seven minutes into action when Colson hit his first three.
“Ever since I’ve been here, Georgia Tech has always been a struggle. It’s the way they play defense,” Colson said of the Yellow Jackets (16-13, 7-9 ACC).
Georgia Tech Head Coach Josh Pastner said that the one thing his team’s held their hat on all year was defense. Their strength on the backend have led to the Jackets giving many ACC teams trouble.
“What hurt us tonight I think was turnovers and you have to give Notre Dame credit,” said Pastner.
He also added that he may have failed to coach his team in preparation of Colson’s newly-acquried range attack, something they did not see earlier in the year.
Georgia Tech’s Tadric Jackson led his side with 20 points Sunday.
Matt Farrell for Notre Dame was the only other Irish player to reach double-digits scoring with 17 points, which included a shot-clock buzzer beater in the second half.
Notre Dame is still tied for second place in the ACC with both Louisville and Florida State. The Irish split the season series with the Seminoles, and after facing Boston College Wednesday in the home finale, the team will finish at Louisville.
Coach Brey said the team is looking ahead not to the NCAA Tournament but putting themselves in position for the ACC Tournament.
“I told them if we get to 11-5 tonight, we control our own destiny to finish in the top four,” he said. “You got a real shot to get to Saturday night if you get the double-bye. If you don’t get the double-bye, it’s hard to do that.”
The Irish home finale is Wednesday against Boston College with an 8 PM EST tipoff.
