Tag: Syracuse

Notre Dame Basketball: Irish Survive Back-and-Forth With Orange

Desperate to get in the win column for ACC play, Notre Dame found itself in a contest with Syracuse on Saturday in which the lead changed 18 times. Whenever one team gained momentum, the other would take it right back. Ultimately, it was the Irish …

Desperate to get in the win column for ACC play, Notre Dame found itself in a contest with Syracuse on Saturday in which the lead changed 18 times. Whenever one team gained momentum, the other would take it right back. Ultimately, it was the Irish coming out on top in a wild contest, 88-87, for their first conference win of the year.

John Mooney (28 points, 14 rebounds) broke an 84-all tie with 39.7 seconds left when he got his own rebound off a miss and laid the ball back up and in. It gave Notre Dame the lead for good.

Prentiss Hubb (22 points, nine assists) made it 88-84 with two free throws, and Syracuse struggled to hit a 3-pointer on their final possession. Joseph Girard III finally knocked down a trey with 0.4 seconds left, but by then, the Irish only had to inbound the ball successfully to finish the win. Girard tried to draw a foul on his shot for a potential four-point play, but it was ruled a flop.

T.J. Gibbs scored 21 points for the Irish with all of his field goals coming on 3s. Rex Plueger was involved with a collision that aggravated his surgically-repaired left knee and didn’t play in the second half. However, he wasn’t about to let that diminish his postgame enthusiasm.

Notre Dame Basketball: Re-upping ACC Play vs. Syracuse

The real season for Notre Dame (9-4, 0-2) starts Saturday at Syracuse (8-5, 1-1) as the ACC schedule returns and won’t stop for the rest of the regular season. After that, we’ll know where the Irish stand as far as postseason aspirations. But let’s …

The real season for Notre Dame (9-4, 0-2) starts Saturday at Syracuse (8-5, 1-1) as the ACC schedule returns and won’t stop for the rest of the regular season. After that, we’ll know where the Irish stand as far as postseason aspirations. But let’s not put the cart before the horse.

The Irish enter this game first in the ACC and third nationally in assists at 18.2 a game. With 23 assists in their Dec. 29 win over Alabama A&M, they recorded their fourth game this season with at least 20 dimes. They also have committed the fewest fouls a game in the country (11.6), so the Orange and the rest of the ACC will have to make the most of the few free-throw opportunities available.

John Mooney, the nation’s top rebounder at 10.3 boards a game, needs only eight rebounds to reach 700 for his career.  With seven consecutive double-doubles and 10 for the season to tie for the most in the country, Mooney should be able to get to this milestone quickly.

Notre Dame Basketball: Irish Close 2019 With Win Over Alabama A&M

As if there was any concern about its final game before the New Year and the rest of its ACC schedule, Notre Dame led wire-to-wire in an 82-56 win over Alabama A&M on Sunday at Purcell Pavilion. Five players scored in double figures for the Irish …

As if there was any concern about its final game before the New Year and the rest of its ACC schedule, Notre Dame led wire-to-wire in an 82-56 win over Alabama A&M on Sunday at Purcell Pavilion. Five players scored in double figures for the Irish (9-4) while the Bulldogs (3-8) never recovered from a first half in which they shot 7 of 36 from the field (19.4 percent).

T.J. Gibbs had a 7-of-10 shooting performance while leading all scorers with 17 points. John Mooney pulled down his latest double-double of 16 points and 18 rebounds. Dane Goodwin scored 12 off the bench, and 11 points each came from Juwan Durham and Prentiss Gibbs. Durham went to the locker room after suffering a sprained left knee on a rebound but returned to the bench before the game was over.

Notre Dame finishes its nonconference schedule at 9-2. The slate that will determine whether it goes dancing in March begins Saturday with a trip to Syracuse. A win would get the Irish back on the right track after earlier ACC losses to North Carolina and Boston College.