Tag: Tae Davis

Tae Davis, Matt Zona speak after Notre Dame beats Clemson

Hear from a couple of key players after the Irish’s latest victory.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Notre Dame gave its home fans a great sendoff for this season with a 69-62 victory over Clemson. There were several key players involved with the result, but only two of them spoke to the media afterwards.

One was [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag], who scored all 18 of his points in the second half and scored six straight points to break a 50-all tie and give the Irish a lead they never gave back. He stands to be a key part of the future.

The other was senior forward [autotag]Matt Zona[/autotag], who played his final game at Purcell Pavilion and was named team captain by [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] beforehand. Coming off the bench, he hit two 3-pointers to account for all six of his points and also grabbed four rebounds. Getting to talk to the media was a nice culmination of a memorable day for him.

Here are the questions Fighting Irish Wire asked them:

Notre Dame victorious over Clemson in final home game of season

Hopefully, there are many of these at Purcell Pavilion next year.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Notre Dame has been playing better late in the season, and the future appears to look bright. Saturday presented the final opportunity to give the fans at Purcell Pavilion a glimpse of that future.

In front of a loud crowd in their home finale against Clemson, the Irish continued to compete well and hard as they have lately. It paid off as the Irish beat their second straight NCAA Tournament-bound opponent, 69-62, after topping Wake Forest earlier in the week. That’s their fifth win in their past six games.

The Irish (12-17, 7-11) and Tigers (20-9, 10-8) showcased a battle that saw six ties and 11 lead changes, mostly in the second half. The Tigers held the lead for much of the game, but everything changed over the final eight minutes with the game tied at 50.

[autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] went on a personal 6-0 run with a high-jumping two-handed dunk and four free throws. The Irish never let the lead slip away again, going up by as much as nine. The Irish faithful in attendance made their appreciation known late in the game and once the clock ran out.

[autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] continued to make his case for ACC Rookie of the Year with 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting, six rebounds and four assists. Davis scored all 18 of his points in the second half, which included making all eight of his free throws, and [autotag]Carey Booth[/autotag] got nine of his 11 points on three 3-pointers.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Notre Dame nearly completes 29-point comeback against Syracuse

No shame to be had after this one at all.

No coach in any sport at any level will say a loss was a moral victory. If one exists though, Notre Dame certainly had one against Syracuse. On a day the Orange honored legendary coach Jim Boeheim, the Irish should have been a patsy. Instead, they made the Orange earn every bit of their 88-85 victory.

This one should have been over early when the Irish (10-17, 5-11) trailed the Orange (18-10, 9-8) by 29 points late in the first half. But the Irish ended the half on a 9-0 run, culminating in a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by [autotag]Julian Roper II[/autotag]. It proved to be a precursor to what was to come.

The Irish got hot from the field in the second half and cut the deficit to four with eight minutes left. The Orange built that lead back up to 10, and it looked like that was it. Except it wasn’t.

With the deficit still at nine and 2:11 to go, [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] and Roper hit back-to-back 3s to bring the Irish within three. Burton rebounded an Orange miss, and the Irish called a timeout to draw up a play that would tie the game.

A Shrewsberry 3 was short off the rim, and Chris Bell got the rebound and was fouled before hitting two free throws to put the Orange up five. [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] then made a layup, and after Quadir Copeland missed a one-and-one, Burton had one more chance to send the game to overtime but missed a long 3. That ended a valiant comeback attempt in which the Irish scored 56 second-half points.

All five Orange starters scored in double figures with Judah Mintz’s 21 points leading the way. Bell scored 18 points, including four 3-pointers, and former Irish guard JJ Starling had 14 along with Maliq Brown.

Burton had perhaps his best collegiate game with 28 points on 10-of-20 shooting along with eight assists. Shrewsberry scored all 18 of his points in the second half on six 3-pointers, and [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] had 12 points and seven rebounds.

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Notre Dame sweeps season series with Georgia Tech

Good matchups have been hard to come by for Notre Dame this season. Even when the Irish get them, wins aren’t guaranteed.

Good matchups have been hard to come by for Notre Dame this season. Even when the Irish get them, wins aren’t guaranteed. Georgia Tech is the exception to that rule this season as the Irish beat the Yellow Jackets, 58-55, to complete a season sweep in the series.

Neither team led by more than six the entire game, during which there were nine lead changes. The Irish (9-16, 4-10) didn’t go into the lead for good until [autotag]J.R. Konieczny[/autotag] hit a jump shot inside the baseline with 3:12 left to put his team up one. It still was a one-point game when [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] had a chance to milk the clock with 38 seconds left.

Burton indeed took his time and waited until only a few seconds remained on the shot clock to fire a shot. He missed, and the ball was loose momentarily, but it ended up in the hands of [autotag]Logan Imes[/autotag]. He got the ball back to Burton, who was fouled with 1.2 seconds left and sank two free throws.It was reflective of the Irish having significant advantages in offensive rebounds (16-5) and second-chance points (20-9).

A last-second half-court heave for the Yellow Jackets (10-15, 3-11) didn’t get off in time, and the Irish had the win. It marked their first season sweep of an ACC opponent in two years.

Burton again contributed in a matter similar to [autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] with game highs of 18 points, five assists and five steals. [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] scored 17 on 6-of-12 shooting from the field.

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Notre Dame’s struggles continue in loss to Pittsburgh

Another road defeat for the young Irish.

Notre Dame has had great recent success against Pittsburgh, winning eight of the previous nine meetings entering Saturday. For much of the first half in the Steel City, it looks like that success would continue. But the Irish were reminded that this is a rebuilding season, and the Panthers recognized that early enough to come away with a 70-60 victory.

Neither team shot well at first, and the Irish (7-15, 2-9) took advantage of that by going up seven a couple of times in the opening half. But the Panthers (14-8, 5-6) overcame missing their first nine 3-point shots and found their stroke, which contributed to them going into halftime on a 16-3 run.

The Irish bounced back from a six-point deficit to tie it early in the second half. The Panthers responded to that by making three consecutive 3s, proving that their early struggles from that distance were ancient history.

The Irish kept the deficit from reaching double digits for a little bit longer, but the deficit did get to that point, there was no recovering. The saving grace is that once they got down 17, they outscored the Panthers, 16-6, over the final few minutes.

Blake Hinson led the Panthers with 17 points with all four of his field goals coming from 3. Carlton Carrington was just behind with three 3s as part of the 16 points he scored before fouling out. Ishmael Leggett scored 12 points off the bench, and Jaland Lowe added 11 points as well as a game-high five assists.

[autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] led the Irish with 17 points and three steals. [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] scored 16 on 6-of-8 shooting from the field. But the Irish couldn’t counter the Panthers’ 3-point attack as they shot 5 of 19 from that range.

[autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] picked up a technical foul late after coming onto the court to yell at the officials.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Full list of 2024 Panthers free agents

The Panthers currently have 26 players slated for free agency in 2024.

Things have changed a bit since the last time we brought you this free agent list.

A few weeks back, the Carolina Panthers held on to a few of their own—re-signing tight end Stephen Sullivan and defensive linemen Nick Thurman LaBryan Ray to fresh deals.

So, let’s take an updated look at the team’s pending 2024 free agents.

Micah Shrewsberry speaks after Notre Dame loses to Florida State

Here a few thoughts from the head man.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – If there’s one thing Notre Dame coach Micah Shrewsberry doesn’t do, it’s deflect blame. He understands that whenever his team loses, it falls back to him. He isn’t going to change that mindset anytime soon.

The Irish lost to Florida State, 67-58, and Shrewsberry wasn’t about to throw his players under the bus in his postgame news conference. If anything, he partially blamed not having [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] available because of a sprained ankle he suffered in practice the day before. He said it took all of the energy and emotion out of his team. It always is hard to soldier on when one of your players suddenly isn’t available, but Davis’ absence really seemed to bother Shrewsberry.

It’s unknown if Davis will be available Monday at Boston College in a quick turnaround for the Irish. What is known though is that Shrewsberry wasn’t short on words after this home defeat to the Seminoles. Here’s his opening statement and his answers to the questions asked by Fighting Irish Wire:

Notre Dame’s OT win at Georgia Tech first true road win in 23 months

The Irish haven’t had this type of victory in a while.

Notre Dame knows it could have beaten Duke and should have beaten NC State. There’s nothing to do but soldier on though, and that includes facing the next opponent. In this case, it was a road meeting at Georgia Tech, and it turned out successfully.

The Irish beat the Yellow Jackets in overtime, 75-68, for their first true road victory since defeating Clemson in February 2022, during which the only active Irish player who played in that game and only for 46 seconds was [autotag]Matt Zona[/autotag].

A game that featured nine ties and 11 lead changes meant this could have gone either way. Overtime was needed after [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] missed a shot at the end of regulation that could have broken a 66-all tie.

The free basketball turned out to be just what the Irish (7-9, 2-3) needed. [autotag]Julian Roper II[/autotag]’s 3-pointer was the Irish’s only field goal in the frame, but it was enough as the value of that basket was only one more point than the Yellow Jackets (8-7, 1-3) scored during that time.

[autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] was the Irish’s best player as he scored 25 points off the bench, shooting 5-of-9 from 3-point range and making all six of his free throws. Burton scored 12 and dished out seven assists. The Irish got double-doubles from [autotag]J.R. Konieczny[/autotag] (10 points, 11 rebounds) and [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] (10 points, 10 rebounds).

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

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2024 free agents who may be playing their final game for the Panthers in Week 18

Week 18 may mark the end of an era for a few Carolina Panthers players.

Sunday will not only represent the end of a brutal 2023 season for the Carolina Panthers, but it may also mark the end of a few eras.

Here are 23 pending free agents who could be playing their last game for the Panthers in Week 18:

*List excludes pending free agents who are on the practice squad, who are on injured reserve and who have been ruled out

Notre Dame has shocking blowout of Virginia in ACC home opener

Did anybody expect this?

Notre Dame began its real ACC schedule at home Saturday against Virginia, a program that has been receiving Top 25 votes. You would have been forgiven had you chosen to opt out of viewing this game. But if you had, you would have missed the Irish’s biggest win of the season. They never trailed in a 76-54 upset victory.

The Irish (6-7, 1-1) scored the game’s first 13 points, and nearly five minutes passed before the Cavaliers (10-3, 1-1) got on the board. From there, it was a perfect display of offensive and defensive execution. The Irish got good looks when they had the ball and frustrated the Cavaliers by staying in front of the ball and taking care of it when it was up for grabs. At halftime, they were shooting an obscene 69.6% from the field.

The second half began with the Cavaliers scoring seven unanswered points to cut the deficit to 10. After [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] called a timeout, the Irish got back on track and never allowed the game to get any closer than that. By the time they increased their lead to 20 with less than nine minutes to go, it was clear that there would be no collapse on their part.

[autotag]J.R. Konieczny[/autotag] scored all 17 of his points in the first half, making all six of his field-goal attempts, including four from 3-point range, during that time. He was kept out of the scoring column in the second half but grabbed seven of his eight rebounds in that frame.

[autotag]Carey Booth[/autotag] also scored 17 and came within a rebound of a double-double. [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] also flirted with a double-double by picking up 15 points and a game-high eight assists. [autotag]Kebba Njie[/autotag] had 10 points and six boards. [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] briefly exited with an injury but returned to the game to record five rebounds and make his only shot attempt.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89