Colson's 24 points lead Notre Dame to 92-78 win over Iowa

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame couldn't pass, couldn't hang on to the ball, couldn't hold on to a 15-point lead and just about couldn't miss from the free-throw line.

The Fighting Irish were 30 of 33 in foul shooting with Bonzie Colson making all 12 of his attempts, Steve Vasturia made all seven of his and Notre Dame beat Iowa 92-78 Tuesday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

"The foul line is an unbelievable weapon for us," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. "We get there and then we capitalize when we get there."

Colson finished with a season-high 24 points and a career-high 17 rebounds for his fourth straight double-double and Vasturia tied a career high with 22 points and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds to pace the Irish (7-0). Colson said he focused on rebounding.

"I just try to play the game and just play like it's my last game and just continue to battle with the bigs and continue to rebound and if I see the scoring opportunity just go to work in that department," he said.

Iowa (3-4) had its largest lead of the second half at 52-50 when Notre Dame hit four straight shots and Iowa missed four straight during a 10-0 run capped by Vasturia driving through the lane for a layup to give Notre Dame a 60-52 lead.

The Irish extended the lead to 79-63 on a jumper by Farrell.

Freshman Jordan Bohanon, whose previous season-high was six points, finished with a team-high 23 points in his first start. Jok, coming off a career-high 42 points against Memphis, struggled throughout, making 4 of 20 shots for 15 points.

"They were really locked into him," Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. "Those ones he missed tonight were the same ones he made against Memphis. I give Notre Dame credit for that."

Jok blamed himself, saying he didn't do his part.

"There's no way I should go 4-20 on a given night against anybody. But like I said it was one of those games. I've still got to find a way to make shots, and I didn't do it tonight."

BIG PICTURE

Iowa: The Hawkeyes were without freshman forward Tyler Cook, their second-leading scorer at 13.7 points game, who underwent surgery earlier Tuesday because of a fractured his right index finger and is expected to be out about three weeks. After two straight losses the Hawkeyes tried to shake things up with three new starters but continued to struggle against Power Five opponents.

Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish, who entered the game averaging 7.5 turnovers and 18.5 assists, had four turnovers in less than six minutes, 11 in the first half. The Irish finished with 14 turnovers and just 11 assists, but won comfortably to improve to 7-0 for the third time in 17 seasons under Mike Brey. The Irish also won their first seven in 2001 and got off to their best start at 8-0 in 2010.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

The Irish, who were two spots outside the poll on Monday, should have a chance of becoming ranked after their third win against a Power Five opponent.

TIP-INS

The Hawkeyes, who had 18 turnovers in each of its past two games against No. 6 Virginia and Memphis, had only six against the Irish. ... Iowa fell to 5-11 in ACC/Big Ten Challenge games. Notre Dame is 3-1. ... The Irish improved to 8-1 vs. Big Ten opponents the past three seasons.

REMEMBERING RIVERS

Notre Dame will induct former standout guard David Rivers, who led the Irish to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 1984-88, into its Ring of Honor on Jan. 21 at halftime of its game against Syracuse. Rivers is the sixth-leading all-time scorer at Notre Dame with 2,058 points. He was a first-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Lakers. He was a three-time captain for the Irish.

UP NEXT

Iowa: The Hawkeyes return home to play Omaha and Stetson before facing rival Iowa State, which is ranked No. 19.

Notre Dame: The Irish play North Carolina A&T and Fort Wayne at home before neutral-site games against No. 2 Villanova in Newark, New Jersey, and No. 15 Purdue in Indianapolis.

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