Drawing a tough Indiana team in the annual Crossroads Classic, Notre Dame could have let itself get smoked. Instead, it hung in until the very end and nearly won it. However, it’s unlikely anyone on the team is thinking of this as anything but a 62-60 loss.
Notre Dame (8-4) turned a 17-point deficit into a five-point lead with 3:42 left. But Armaan Franklin made two 3-pointers after that, including one that gave Indiana (11-1) the lead with 15.7 seconds left. John Mooney missed a game-tying layup, and Rex Pflueger was unable to connect on a half-court shot at the buzzer.
Mooney tied for the team lead in scoring with Dane Goodwin for 15 points and had a double-double with 10 rebounds. Nate Laszewski met the bare minimum for a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards. Juwan Durham added 11 points.
Already ravaged by injuries to their rotation, the Irish momentarily suffered another blow when T.J. Gibbs went back to the locker room in the first half clutching his left leg. Though he returned before halftime, he appeared bothered by the leg while on the floor. Pfluger also was bitten by the injury bug with a sore groin before going back into the game a short time later.