SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) Martinas Geben had 14 points and 10 rebounds to help No. 5 Notre Dame beat St. Francis (Brooklyn) 71-53 on Sunday despite ejections to All-American Bonzie Colson and coach Mike Brey with 6:02 left.
Colson, who had 13 points and 9 rebounds, was called for a flagrant foul when he swung his elbows and floored the Terriers’ Glenn Sanabria. As Colson left the court following his ejection, Brey had to be restrained twice by his coaching staff, the second time leading to his ejection.
Matt Farrell scored 12 points while T.J. Gibbs and D.J. Harvey had 10 each for the Fighting Irish (7-1), still smarting after their 81-63 loss at Michigan State on Thursday. Notre Dame started the second half with 4 of 19 shooting but ended an 11-1 Terrier run when Gibbs hit a 3-pointer with 13:13 left.
There were 32 personal fouls, in the game, 21 by St. Francis Brooklyn (2-6), which got 10 points each from Jalen Jordan, Rasheem Dunn and Darelle Porter.
BIG PICTURE
St. Francis: The Terriers, one of four teams never to have played in the NCAA Tournament, were picked to finish last in the Northeast Conference preseason coaches poll. Coach Glenn Braica’s 15-man roster has five freshmen and three sophomores, with two freshmen (Chauncey Hawkins and Jalen Jordan) and one sophomore (Milija Cosic) starting.
Notre Dame: The Irish, coming off their first loss of the season (81-63) at No. 3 Michigan State, struggled early until getting their defensive legs. Leading just 16-14 at a media timeout with 10:49 to go in the first half, the Irish forced five turnovers en route to a 43-25 halftime lead.
UP NEXT
St. Francis: The Terriers travel to the Bronx on Saturday to play Fordham.
Notre Dame: The Irish host Ball State on Tuesday night.
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