ATLANTA – Before tonight, Notre Dame men’s basketball and Georgia Tech had squared off 20 times since the Irish joined the league back in 2013. Out of those 20 encounters, 18 were decided by single digits with 13 of them being five points or less. On Tuesday night inside McCamish Pavilion it was no different. The Fighting Irish (7-9, 2-3) took down the Yellow Jackets (8-7, 1-3) in an exciting fashion as Notre Dame clinched the overtime win 75-68.
It marked the first true road victory for Glenn & Stacey Murphy Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry and this year’s Irish squad.
Braeden Shrewsberry finished the night 25 points, his second straight game in double figures. Shrewsberry is now 9-for-16 from three over the last two games as he knocked down a season high five treys against the Yellow Jackets, shooting 55.6% from behind the arc.
Marcus Burton followed with 12 points on the night, dishing out seven assists for the Irish. Plus, Tae Davis (10p/10r) and JR Konieczny (10p/11r) each recorded double-doubles on the night.
Notre Dame also converted a weakness from last week into a strong point tonight, converting 19-of-21 from the free-throw line. The Irish also outrebounded the Yellow Jackets 48-33.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Burton and Shrewsberry connected on back-to-back three-pointers to give the Irish their first lead of the game, up 13-10, at 12:28. Next, five Notre Dame turnovers over the next four minutes and 10 seconds allowed Georgia Tech to reclaim the lead up 17-13.
Then three different Irish starters all got into the mix to deliver counter punches. Davis and Booth both had tough takes to the basket to tie at 17-all, then Konieczny countered a Yellow Jacket three with one of his own to tie it again at 20-all going into the 6:13 media timeout.
Another turnover spree plagued the Irish as they coughed it up three times in a two-minute span. The result was a 7-0 Georgia Tech run which prompted a Coach Shrewsberry timeout with 4:53 remaining till half.
The Irish regained their composure and recorded a stretch in which they made 5-of-6 from the field. Shrewsberry’s third trey of the half resulted in a Notre Dame 9-0 run to put the visitors up 31-29 at the break.
Shrewsberry’s nine points led the Irish at halftime, followed by seven from Burton and six from Davis. Notre Dame outshot Georgia Tech 45 percent (13-29) from the field to their 32 percent (11-34). The Yellow Jackets’ advantage was scoring 14 points off of 10 ND turnovers.
Georgia Tech scored the first five points of the second half. Coach Shrewsberry, who emphasized needing a better start to the second half after the Duke game, made a quick substitution change. Roper II, who just re-entered the game, recorded five straight points, which was then followed by a Konieczny slam. Thus, the Irish fired off a 10-2 scoring run to go up 41-36 which prompted a Georgia Tech timeout at 16:31.
Georgia Tech’s top scorer Miles Kelly got the Yellow Jackets back in the game with eight points over the next five minutes. Braeden Shrewsberry countered with a pair of mid-range jumpers but the Irish lead was cut to two at 49-47 at the 9:42 media. Yet, Kelly kept the hot hand, as his third trey of the half gave the Yellow Jackets back the lead just moments later.
Later at 5:37, Shrewsberry’s fourth three-pointer of the game tied it at 54-all, but Georgia Tech’s Kelly struck again from deep to maintain the lead. Shrewsberry then hit a pair of free throws to counter the blow, and down on the defensive end he grabbed a big rebound which ultimately led to Notre Dame free throws to recapture the lead at 58-57.
Georgia Tech and Notre Dame traded the lead back-and-forth and with 1:39 remaining, the Irish found themselves down one at 61-60 and with the basketball. Enter Shrewsberry again, hitting his fifth three-pointer of the game. Followed by a Burton free throw, the Irish had a 64-61 advantage.
While the Yellow Jackets brought it within one at 64-63, Shrewsberry knocked down a pair of free throws to extend the Irish lead 66-63 with 16 seconds left in regulation. With 5.5 seconds on the clock, Georgia Tech was able to send home a trey to tie it up at 66-all. Burton was able to get a pull up jumper off before the horn sounded, but the Irish and Yellow Jackets would be heading into overtime in McCamish Pavilion.
Roper II converted the first basket in overtime, burying a three. Georgia Tech would knock their only shot in overtime, as a Yellow Jacket pullup jumper made it a 69-68 ballgame. The Irish then continued to get it done from the stripe, converting six free throws to ice the game.
UP NEXT
The Irish have to play two games within a three-day period coming up. It starts back in South Bend when Notre Dame hosts Florida State on Saturday, Jan. 13, at 2:15 p.m. ET. The Irish will then immediately fly to Boston College to play the Eagles on Monday at 7 p.m. After the BC matchup, the Irish will have a week off from competition.
— ND –