Credit to: fightingirish.com
HELD MIAMI TO A SEASON LOW IN POINTS
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – In the ACC opener, the Irish (3-4, 0-1 ACC) fell 62-49 in a hard fought battle on the road to the No. 8 Miami (6-1, 1-0 ACC) on Saturday, Dec. 2 at the Watsco Center.
While the Irish struggled to convert on the offensive end at times, Notre Dame’s defensive efforts limited the Hurricanes to a season low in points – 24 points fewer than their season average of 86 points per game. The Irish forced 13 Miami turnovers and dominated the offensive boards as they outrebounded the Hurricanes 15-6 on the offensive glass.
The Irish had good looks, but just couldn’t capitalize offensively as they finished the day shooting 18-63 (.286) from the floor and 6-32 (.188) from beyond the arc.
J.R. Konieczny led the offensive charge with 14 points, shooting 4-7 from three, as he’s put up double figures in four of his last five games. Tae Davis finished with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds in his second straight game in double figures after putting up a team-best 15 points on Tuesday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Notre Dame got the offensive boards early to earn some second chance points, also rolling behind a hot hand from Konieczny to jump out to an 8-5 advantage. Notre Dame later led 12-7 before a 7-0 run from Miami put the Hurricanes in front at 14-12.
Next, the Irish defense got locked in, holding the Hurricanes to a five-minute scoring drought. However, the Irish couldn’t take advantage, going 2-for-12 from the field around the same time – both field goals being three-pointers from Braeden Shrewsberry.
The game took a turn at the 6:59 media timeout with Notre Dame up 20-19. The Hurricanes fired off a 12-0 scoring run over the next three minutes with Booth ending the drought with 3:21 remaining. Lastly, the Irish converted on an in-bounds play with one second on the clock to cut the once 11-point deficit down to seven at 33-26 at the half.
The Irish defense held the Hurricanes to their lowest half point total of the season. However, the Irish offense shot 9-of-32 (.281) from the field and 4-of-18 (.222) from three. Miami went 13-of-27 (.481) in the first half. Davis and Koneiczny each led at the break with eight points followed by six from Shrewsberry.
Notre Dame recorded an early 4-for-5 stretch from the field in the second half to get within six points but Miami stymied the momentum and pushed its lead back to double-digits, up 46-34 with 13:51 remaining.
Konieczny’s third three of the day brought the Irish within single-digits at 52-43 with 8:22 left in the half. The junior did it again at the 5:21 mark as Konieczny knocked another shot down from behind the arc to make it a nine point game at 58-49.
Both squads were scoreless through the next two and a half minutes, but a pair of buckets would give the Hurricanes their largest lead of the day at 62-49 with 1:46 remaining. While the Irish had a couple of looks late, Notre Dame would fall 62-49 in the ACC opener on the road.
UP NEXT
The Irish return home for one game, a Tuesday night showdown against Western Michigan. Don’t miss the special theme for the matchup – Irish Hoops (Taylor’s Version). Expect light up bracelets and Taylor music throughout the evening. That match will tip off at 7 p.m. ET inside Purcell Pavilion and stream live on ACCNX.
