More than once on Wednesday’s ESPN2 broadcast of Notre Dame’s game against No. 7 Florida State, we were reminded it had been two years, three months and 11 days since the Irish last defeated a ranked team. For almost all of the contest, it appeared they would get that monkey off their back.
But the Irish (18-12, 9-10) let a 13-point second-half lead slip away to the point where they went back and forth between holding slim leads and being tied up. Finally, Trent Forrest rebounded his own missed layup and put it through with 3.8 seconds left to give the Seminoles (25-5, 15-4) their first lead since 5-4 and a 73-71 win.
Prentiss Hubb achieved game highs of 24 points and six assists while shooting 5 of 9 from 3-point range. John Mooney collected his latest double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds. Dane Goodwin also scored 16 while coming off the bench.
Of course, the takeaway is the same old story: The Irish can stay in close games, but they falter when it really matters more often than not.