The Daily Nole

Notre Dame Rolls Past FSU, 84-72

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Entering Saturday’s contest in South Bend, the home team had won every match-up between Florida State and Notre Dame since the Fighting Irish joined the ACC during the 2013-14 season. That streak remained intact as Notre Dame handled the 14th-ranked Seminoles, 84-72.

Matt Farrell’s jumper with 12:26 remaining in the first half gave Notre Dame (19-7, 8-5 ACC) a 12-10 lead and from there, it never looked back. The Fighting Irish led 40-31 at halftime and by as many as 20 points in the second half en route to an easy victory.

Not much went right on the night for the Seminoles (21-5, 9-4 ACC). FSU shot a respectable 47 percent from the field, but went just 3-for-15 from beyond the arc, a horrific 7-for-22 from the free throw line and was out-rebounded by Notre Dame, 41-34. Notre Dame on the other hand, shot 49 percent from the field and 19-for-21 from the charity stripe.

FSU had no answer for Notre Dame’s Bonzie Colson. In the first meeting between the schools last month — an 83-80 FSU victory in Tallahassee — Colson was held to just nine points and eight rebounds as the Seminoles became the only team to hold Colson to single-digits in both categories this season. On Saturday, the ACC’s leading rebounder refused to duplicate the performance, finishing with a career-high 33 points and 13 boards.

Farrell, who dished out a game-high nine assists, and Steve Vasturia each chipped in with 15 points in the victory. Terance Mann scored 15 points on an efficient 7-for-9 shooting to lead the Seminoles. Dwayne Bacon and Trent Forrest each scored 12 points in the loss. Xavier Rathan-Mayes finished with 11 points, but just one in the second half while missing his final five shots.

The loss prevented FSU from moving into first place in the ACC. The Seminoles will have a week off before traveling to face Pittsburgh next Saturday. Notre Dame will look for a third straight victory on Tuesday night at Boston College.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson

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