Notre Dame shocks Wichita State for title

LAHAINA >> Notre Dame pulled off a shocker for its first Maui Jim Maui Invitational title.

The No. 13 Fighting Irish rallied from a 16-point deficit and made some critical late plays to stun No. 6 Wichita State 67-66 in front of a packed house at Lahaina Civic Center on Wednesday night.

“We wanted to have our name up on this Maui wall there,” Irish coach Mike Brey said. “This is the premier tournament, the Maui Classic. This is the one. It’s a great confidence builder.”

UND (6-0) led for all of 22 seconds. Thankfully for the Irish, that included the last 2.3, when big man Martinas Geben, a 60 percent foul shooter, hit the go-ahead free throws.

After a timeout, the Irish knocked the ball loose from Shockers guard Landry Shamet near midcourt to seal it.

On the winning inbounds play with 3.3 seconds left, tournament MVP Matt Farrell (15 points) acted as a decoy running around staggered screens. Geben, perhaps the least likely target, slipped to the basket and took the pass from Rex Pflueger. WSU forward Shaquille Morris was forced to take a foul on him.

Geben’s first free throw hung on the rim and dropped in, and the second was good all the way.

“Marty’s been grinding the whole year and it’s big to see him show his heart and pride and make those two free throws for our program,” said forward Bonzie Colson, who led the comeback charge with 25 points and 11 rebounds. “It came down to our principles and it’s a great win for us.”

Notre Dame turned to a zone defense in the second half to get back in it after trailing 37-23 at the half.

The comeback included a banked 3-pointer by guard T.J. Gibbs.

“It’s been my experience when people bank in 3-pointers, they generally win,” WSU coach Gregg Marshall said. “I guess the luck of the Irish was with them tonight.”

After a Colson air ball with 15 seconds left, Farrell stole WSU’s inbounds attempt and fed it to Colson for a bucket to get within 66-65. UND took a foul on Austin Reaves, who missed the front end of the 1-and-1. Farrell then got blocked on a layup, which resulted in a jump ball to the Irish with 3.3 seconds left.

“I don’t know if you can say it was one play,” Farrell said. “Whoever was in the game was playing hard. Everyone was playing hard and for each other. There’s something special about this group.”

Brey drew attention all tournament for his T-shirt-and-shorts look. He was asked if the Maui title was a sign he should keep going casual for games back in South Bend, Ind.

“I’m wondering if I should rock this on Tobacco Road,” Brey said. “No, I think I’ll keep this for Maui.”