SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Notre Dame men’s basketball was locked in from buzzer-to-buzzer, posting a dominant 76-54 victory over Virginia on Saturday afternoon inside Purcell Pavilion. The 76 points were the most scored by Notre Dame (6-7, 1-1) all-time in the 21-game series against the Cavaliers (10-3, 1-1). In addition, the Irish handed Virginia its biggest loss to an ACC opponent sinc 2017 (65-41 loss to No. 10 UNC on Feb. 18, 2017).
It was 574 Day inside Purcell and the local boys (plus Carey Booth) balled out for Notre Dame. South Bend native J.R. Konieczny posted 17 points and eight rebounds, shooting 6-of-8 including a 4-for-5 mark from three. Mishawaka native Markus Burton earned 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting, plus a career high eight assists.
Then there was freshman Carey Booth, who poured in 17 points and a season high tying nine rebounds in what was his second consecutive start.
HOW IT HAPPENED
J.R. Konieczny got the crowd on their feet early with three consecutive treys to start the game, with the last one being a buzzer beating shot in which he caught the pass and shot it all in mid-air. Meanwhile, Virginia started 0-for-7 from the field, as Notre Dame jumped out to a 13-0 lead.
Konieczny was in double figures by the 13:36 mark as he started 4-for-4 from the field as the Irish thus started 7-for-8. By the under-12 media timeout, the Irish boasted a 19-9 advantage.
Next, the Notre Dame defense recorded a four-minute stretch in which they held the Cavaliers to without a field goal as a Braeden Shrewsberry three made it 29-14.
Konieczny maintained the hot hand the entire half, as he improved to 4-for-4 from beyond the arc at the 3:40 mark to boost the score to 34-16. Burton then got into double digits with 10 points as the Irish rode into half with a 41-24 advantage.
Ultimately, it marked the most points scored against Virginia in a half this season. The Irish shot a season best 69.6 percent (16-23). Konieczny and Burton combined for 27 of those points on 10-for-11 shooting, including a 6-for-6 mark from three-point range.
Yet, you knew Virginia would not go quietly, as the Cavaliers threw some punches Notre Dame’s way by scoring the first seven points in the second half and trimming the Irish lead to 10 points by the 17:22 mark.
That UVA run prompted a timeout from Coach Shrewsberry and out of the break Julian Roper II responded with a three followed by a slam by Kebba Njie a possession later.
Later around 12 minutes remaining, the Cavaliers would take advantage of a four-minute Irish scoring drought and once again cut the Irish lead to 10. That’s when Burton answered by driving the lane and hitting a signature floater. That was followed by five straight points from Carey Booth. Then back to Burton who converted an emphatic and-one to push the Irish lead to 61-40.
Booth was a man possessed late in the second half. Soon after Burton’s and-one, he converted an and-one of his own and maintained his momentum. Booth ultimately scored all 14 of his second half points from the 11:11 mark to 4:54 on the clock.
With under three minutes remaining, the bench was emptied as Tony Sanders got in on the fun and hit a three to finish the Irish scoring for the 76-54 final.
UP NEXT
The Irish look to build off the Virginia win by continuing the homestand with two more ACC contests: NC State on Jan. 3 and Duke on Jan. 6.
— ND –