DURHAM, N.C. – Wednesday night marked Notre Dame’s third straight road contest and to escape with a victory the Fighting Irish would have to take down the No. 9/10 Duke Blue Devils and the Cameron Crazies in a hostile environment. There were major portions of the contest in which the Fighting Irish (7-16, 2-10) went toe-to-toe with the Blue Devils (17-5, 8-3), but the game was ultimately decided by two key Duke scoring runs, one in each half, resulting in a 71-53 defeat.
Duke delivered a 17-0 scoring blow in the first half as Notre Dame fought back to cut its deficit to single digits (25-33) by halftime. Then another turnover spree in the second half keyed a 15-5 run by the home squad.
Markus Burton scored 12 points in the second half, marking the ninth time this season in which he’s scored double figures in the second. The freshman guard finished with 19 points , marking his third consecutive game with at least 17 points. He has now scored in double figures in 16 consecutive games.
Braeden Shrewsberry recorded his seventh game in double figures over the last nine games with 13 points. He was 3-of-8 from beyond the arc, marking his ninth straight game with multiple three-pointers. In fact, he’s knocked down 13 in the last four games.
Duke out-rebounded Notre Dame 43-35 and took advantage of those second chance points, out-scoring the Irish 21-2 in that category. The Blue Devils also tallied 38 of their points in the paint. Notre Dame finished 20-of-59 (.339) from the field compared to Duke’s 26-of-60 (.433).
HOW IT HAPPENED
Shrewsberry and Burton each got a bucket early to get the Irish up 5-3, but then a lengthy offensive cold spell settled in. The Irish recorded an 0-for-12 shooting stretch from the field, coupled with five turnovers, resulting in an eight-minute scoring drought. In the meantime, Duke recorded a 17-0 run, tying Marquette for most consecutive points dropped on the Irish this season.
Next, a trio of Irish freshmen would give the Irish a boost starting with back-to-back three-pointers from Shrewsberry and Burton. Later, a Carey Booth offensive board and putback slam marked 10 straight Irish points scored by freshmen with Notre Dame now trailing 17-26 at the 3:36 media.
Shrewsberry would tack on two more points from the free throw line in the final second of the half to pull the Irish back within single digits at 25-33. Thus, after Duke’s scoring run, Notre Dame ended the half out-scoring the Blue Devils 20-13.
The Blue Devils scored the first five points of the second half to push their lead back to double digits. Shrewsberry and Burton each drained a three soon after to not only push their point totals to double figures, but also bring the Irish back within nine at 33-42 with 16:19 on the clock.
Burton started the second half 3-for-5 as the freshman guard got into a rhythm to trade back-and-forth blows with Duke. However, right after, Duke fired off a 15-5 scoring spree to mark their largest lead of the game up 44-63. Notre Dame committed six turnovers during this stretch. Duke then settled in for the 71-53 final.
UP NEXT
The Fighting Irish finally get to return to Purcell Pavilion on Saturday, Feb. 10, when they host the Hokies of Virginia Tech. Please note the new tip time of 6 p.m. ET on the CW.
— ND –