Notre Dame Beats Chicago State, 105-66
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- Sophomore guard T.J. Gibbs survived a scary second-half fall to score a career-high 23 points as No. 13 Notre Dame ran away from Chicago State 105-66 on Thursday night.
Gibbs hit the court hard with 11:59 remaining in the second half but stayed in the game for the Irish (3-0). He finished 8 of 11 from the field, including 4 of 7 from beyond the 3-point arc, and added three assists before taking a seat on the bench with 5:47 remaining.
Bonzie Colson, a preseason Associated Press All-America selection, had 15 points and nine rebounds, and fellow senior Matt Farrell added 18 points and four assists for coach Mike Brey, whose 385th victory at Notre Dame was never in doubt after a 7-0 start led to a 56-29 halftime lead. The Irish also got a career-high 16 points off the bench from freshman D.J. Harvey.
Notre Dame shot 62.1 percent while holding Chicago State (1-3) to 36.1 percent. The Irish had a 41-24 edge on the boards and scored 24 points off 15 Chicago State turnovers.
Fred Sims Jr. led Chicago State with 19 points and Jelani Pruitt had 16.
BIG PICTURE
Chicago State: The Cougars, who started four guards against the Irish, fell behind 7-0 and trailed by as many as 30 points in the first half. Thursday's rout by the Irish was Chicago State's fourth of 33 or more points. The Cougars have 10 more games against schools that played in postseason tournaments (NCAA, NIT, CBI, CIT) last season.
Notre Dame: The Irish continue to see other players step up to share the offensive load with Colson and Farrell. For the second time this season Gibbs led the team in scoring. He scored 21 to pace the Irish to a 72-58 victory at DePaul in the season opener.
UP NEXT
Chicago State: The Cougars stay on the road Saturday at Northern Iowa.
Notre Dame: The Irish leave campus Friday morning at 6 for Chicago and two flights (a layover in San Francisco) and 18 hours of travel to Hawaii for the Maui Jim Maui Invitational in Lahaina. They play tournament host Chaminade in Monday's opening round and either Michigan or LSU on Tuesday.
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