Indiana Rallies From 15 Down To Top Notre Dame, 80-73
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Troy Williams scored 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds and made some clutch plays down the stretch Saturday as Indiana rallied for an 80-73 victory over Notre Dame in the Crossroads Classic.
Indiana (9-3) trailed 56-40 with just over 15 minutes remaining. The Hoosiers also closed the game on a 9-0 run over the final 2:55.
The Hoosiers got back into the game from 3-point range where it hit an even 50 percent of its 20 shots. Yogi Ferrell hit a pull up 3-pointer that tied the game at 71 with 4:09 to play.
Collin Hartman hit two free throws with 57.5 seconds to play to give IU the lead for good at 75-73.
Williams scored 16 of his game-high 18 points in the second half. After making 1 of 6 shots in the first half he hit 5 of 8 in the second.
His biggest play though may have come on the defensive end. After IU had taken the 75-73 lead, Williams made a steal on top when he picked the pocket of Notre Dame's Demetrius Jackson. He was fouled when he tried to score on the other end and made both free throws with 36.5 seconds to play.
Williams later hit two more foul shots with 18.2 seconds to play to cap off the IU scoring.
Notre Dame (7-3), which shot over 50 percent from the field for most of the game, missed its final seven field goal attempts and a pair of free throws. The Irish finished the game shooting 49.2 percent overall.
Robert Johnson had 17 points, James Blackmon Jr. had 11 and Thomas Bryant had 10 for Indiana.
Notre Dame was led by Bonzie Colson with a career-high 24. V.J. Beachem added 18.
TIP-INS
Notre Dame: Bonzie Colson's previous career high had been 17 points against Louisville and Duke, both as a freshman last season. His season-high this year had been 14 against Loyola of Chicago. . The Irish are now 2-1 this season against Big Ten opponents. Notre Dame had beaten both Iowa and Illinois in previous games. . The Irish had won three games this season and three in a row in the Crossroads Classic before falling to the Hoosiers.
Indiana: Troy Williams continued his hot play of late for Indiana. Last week he was named the national player of the week by CBSSports.com after averaging 14 points and 13 rebounds per game. . This is the seventh time in 12 games that Indiana has made at least 10 3-pointers in a game. . The eight rebounds by James Blackmon Jr. was one off his career high of nine set last season.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame plays host to Youngstown State on Monday at 7 p.m.
Indiana will host Kennesaw State on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
(© 2015 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.)