SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Over 8,000 fans inside Purcell Pavilion on Saturday afternoon were treated to a close battle between Notre Dame men’s basketball and No. 14/13 Duke. The Fighting Irish (6-9, 1-3) held the Blue Devils (11-3, 2-1) to a season low in both points and shooting percentage but ultimately fell by the slim margin of 67-59.
The Irish had a lead as large as nine in the first half, but the Blue Devils stormed into halftime on a 14-3 scoring run, which was extended into a 19-3 to start the second half. The Irish would continue to fight hard throughout, rallying down eight points to cut the deficit to just two with 2:44 remaining.
Notre Dame and Duke took the same amount of shots (59) with the Irish converting two more (23). ND also won the rebounding battle 42-40. Duke, who entered the contest ranked sixth in the country in fewest turnovers per game (9.1), committed 11 tonight. A big difference maker came on the free-throw line in which Duke went 17-of-21 to Notre Dame’s 8-of-16.
Freshman point guard Markus Burton recorded his eighth straight game in double figures with 18 points on Saturday. He shot 7-of-21 from the field and dished out four assists. Fellow freshman Braeden Shrewsberry went 4-of-7 from deep to tally 12 points – his fifth game in double figures.
Lastly, sophomore Kebba Njie reeled in 10 rebounds, marking his second straight game with double-digit boards. He nearly earned a double-double by supplying nine points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Burton had seven points on a 3-for-5 shooting start by the 11:24 media to push the Irish ahead 19-15. Later Zona, Njie and Shrewsberry would combine for a 7-0 run to give the Irish its largest lead of the half up nine, 24-15, at the 7:06 mark.
On the next possession, Duke ended what was a near five-minute scoring drought but then got back in the game but inflicting a 4.5-minute drought on the Irish. In fact, the Blue Devils ended the half on a 14-3 run as the Irish registered just one field goal over the final six minutes As a result, Duke took its first lead heading into halftime up 29-27.
The Irish defense once again was the highlight here, holding Duke to a first-half scoring low on the season, as the Blue Devils shot just 31.0 percent from the field, including a 3-of-14 mark from three-point range. Burton led the Irish at the break with nine points, as Notre Dame shot 39.3 percent in the opening half.
An 0-for-5 Notre Dame shooting start to the second half coupled with a 5-0 Duke run prompted an immediate Coach Shrewsberry timeout at 17:20 with the Blue Devils up 34-27.
Out of the timeout, Braeden Shrewsberry knocked down back-to-back treys to spark the Irish, but they ultimately traded blows as they faced a six-point deficit (39-33) at the 15:37 media timeout.
Next, Julian Roper II stepped up with four straight points to spark an ND 6-0 run which cut the deficit to just two points.
Duke buried back-to-back treys with 9:59 remaining to give them their largest lead of the game up eight at 49-41. Shrewsberry kept the Irish in it with his third trey of the half. It was followed by by an and-one by Burton, and just like that, a one-possession game once again down two.
Yet, even when Notre Dame recorded a 5-for-7 shooting stretch from 10:28-6:21, Duke answered from beyond the arc with three treys to maintain the lead. With four minutes remaining, it was a four-point game with the Irish down 57-53.
With 2:44 left, Davis got a big offensive board and putback to make it a one-possession game, Next, Kyle Filipowski, who was kept to a quiet 2-for-12, made that second field to spur four straight points for the visitors.
The Irish would cut it to four points with 53 seconds left and again at 20 seconds, but just couldn’t get over that final hump as they fell 67-59.
UP NEXT
The Irish look to garner its first true road win of the season when they travel to Georgia Tech on Tuesday, Jan. 9. That contest will air on the ACC Network at 9 p.m. ET.
— ND –