SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Even as Fort Wayne made a run Tuesday night, No. 23 Notre Dame stayed calm.The Fighting Irish saw a 27-point lead in the second half whittled down to nine with under 3 minutes left, but they hit their free throws down the stretch to close out an 87-72 win over the Mastodons.Bonzie Colson had his sixth straight double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Steve Vasturia scored 21 points for the Fighting Irish (9-0). They are off to their fastest start in coach Mike Breys 17 seasons -- and the schools best since opening 12-0 in 1973.We handled our business, Brey said. I thought we were poised and knew we werent going to get beat. We just kind of adjusted and figured it out.IPFW used a 20-5 run to get within single digits with 2:48 to go after Charles Ruise Jr.s one-handed floater in the lane.Four straight free throws by Matt Farrell, including a pair following a technical foul on Fort Wayne coach John Coffman, helped seal it for Notre Dame.We knew they were going to have their run, Colson said. We just stayed composed and stayed together.Fort Wayne native V.J. Beachem added 14 points, Farrell had 12 and Colson hit a career-high three 3-pointers.Hes a special guy, Brey said of Colson. He just is really confident and growing. Some of the stuff hes doing outside the arc, step-back 3s, stepping up. I just want to let him keep blossoming.Mo Evans scored 21 of his 25 points in the second half to lead Fort Wayne (7-3), which had won six straight -- including an upset of then-No. 3 Indiana in overtime. John Konchar added a season-high 18 points to go with nine rebounds for the Mastodons.Bryson Scott, who came in averaging 16.9 points and was shooting better than 62 percent from the floor over his last six games, missed all 10 of his field goal attempts and finished with two points.That is a really stingy defense that sits in gaps and really makes you work to get good shots, Coffman said. I dont think we put our best attack and toughness out there on the floor.Seldom-used reserve John Mooneys putback dunk with a second left gave the Irish a 41-23 lead at the break, the fewest points Notre Dame has allowed in the first half this season.A 10-2 Irish run over the first 4 minutes of the second half pushed their lead to 27.In a matchup of the nations No. 10 scoring offense (Notre Dame at 89.1 points per game) and No. 11 scoring offense (Fort Wayne at 88.7 ppg), it was the Irish defense that gave the Mastodons fits early.IPFW entered ninth in the country in field goal percentage, but started cold, hitting just four of its first 15 shots while the Irish built a 14-point lead 12 minutes into the game.I just think our focus level wasnt where it should have been, Evans said. We came out and we dug ourselves a hole.The Mastodons made only one of their first 14 tries from 3-point range, but shot 58 percent from the field in the second half to fuel their comeback.POLL IMPLICATIONSThe Irish will have a chance to make a major rise over the next two weeks, with ranked teams Villanova and Purdue coming up on the schedule. Fort Wayne received one vote this week, but likely wont factor into next weeks poll.FAIR SHOOTINGMartinas Gebens missed free throw early in the second half snapped a string of 31 straight makes from the foul line for Notre Dame. The Irish, who came in leading the country in free throw shooting at 85.8 percent, finished 20 of 23 from the line.Its definitely a weapon, Vasturia said. Its been a great advantage for us to get in the bonus early.BIG PICTUREFort Wayne: Was the win over Indiana on Nov. 22 just a fluke? After crashing back to reality against Notre Dame, the Mastodons will try to right the ship in their final three non-conference games before Summit League play starts.Notre Dame: The Irish, the last undefeated team left in the ACC, did what the Hoosiers could not in putting away Fort Wayne. Now, Notre Dame heads into its big matchup against No. 1 Villanova with plenty of momentum.UP NEXTFort Wayne: Before beginning a stretch of eight days between games, the Mastodons return home Saturday to face Austin Peay, a team they already beat once this season, 103-99 in Clarksville, Tennessee.Notre Dame: The Irish face their toughest stretch of the season to date, heading to Newark, New Jersey, to meet No. 1 Villanova on Saturday, followed by a matchup in Indianapolis with No. 18 Purdue a week later. Cheap Hockey Jerseys . - Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds, J. Cheap Hockey Jerseys Authentic . 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Hockey Jerseys China . - Chris Tierney snapped a tie with a power-play goal late in the third period as the London Knights rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Erie Otters 5-3 in Ontario Hockey League action on Wednesday. CALGARY, Alberta -- Sean Monahans split-second decision sent the Calgary Flames to their second consecutive win.Monahan waited out Minnesota goalie Devan Dubnyk before snapping a shot over his right pad for the shootout winner as Calgary edged the Wild 3-2 on Friday night.I had no idea what I was doing, to be honest, Monahan acknowledged. I thought I was going to come in and go high blocker, but it wasnt there. Hes pretty tall, so I just tried a little move and lucky enough something opened up.Calgary goalie Chad Johnson then stopped Charlie Coyles attempt at the other end of the ice to seal the victory.Its nice when you get the lead, said Johnson, who commended Monahan. If you can get a lead in the shootout, it gives you confidence. You have a little bit more breathing room.Kris Versteeg and Mikael Backlund scored in regulation for the Flames (12-13-2), who are 4-1-1 in their past six games.Johnson made 26 saves for his second straight victory and fifth in the last six starts.Obviously, Johnny stood on his head again for us, made some big saves there in the shootout and in that third period and kept us in that game, Monahan said. Its a lot of credit to him and weve got to build some momentum here at home.Chris Stewart and Mikko Koivu scored for Minnesota (11-8-4), which is 0-1-2 in its past three games.Dubnyk finished with 30 saves, including four in overtime, before allowing goals to Versteeg and Monahan in the shootout.Were not going to overthink the skills competition, Dubnyk said. Id like to make the save, but well work on that. Those are just things you do your best and try to bear down. Obviously it feels better when you get the extra point, but I think in a game that wasnt our best -- we werent as sharp as wed like to be -- to come out with a point and get a big goal in the third is something to build on.ddddddddddddStewart opened the scoring at 3:50 of the first period when he redirected defenseman Jared Spurgeons shot past Johnson.The Flames pulled even at 12:26 when Versteeg backhanded a rebound past Dubnyk, who made a pad save to stop the initial point shot by defenseman Jyrki Jokipakka.Just 1:07 later during a man advantage for the Flames, Backlund tapped a loose puck in the crease into the net behind Dubnyk, who had made back-to-back saves to deny scoring attempts by Mark Giordano and Matthew Tkachuk.Although the Wild outshot Calgary 7-5 in the second, they werent able to get any pucks past Johnson, who made a nice save to stop a one-timer off the stick of Zach Parise early in the period.Koivu scored the equalizer for the Wild at 7:40 in the third when he took a pass from Jason Zucker in the slot and fired a shot to the top corner, glove side, past Johnson.Tkachuk had a great chance to score for Calgary when Alex Chiasson set him up in the slot with 6:18 left in regulation, but Koivu reached back with the shaft of his stick to deflect the puck over the net.The Flames had a power play to start overtime, but werent able to capitalize.Game notes Stewart had gone 14 games without a point and 15 games without scoring before his goal in the first period. ... Monahan extended his points streak to three games with an assist on Versteegs goal. Prior to his streak, Monahan had gone five games without a point.UP NEXTWild: At Edmonton on Sunday night.Flames: Host Anaheim on Sunday night. ' ' '