WASHINGTON D.C. – Not done yet! The Notre Dame men’s basketball team came to Washington D.C. to extend its season and flip the ACC Tournament script. The 12th-seeded Fighting Irish (13-19) made fans hold their collective breaths against the 13th-seeded Yellow Jackets (14-18), but ultimately came up clutch in crunch time with the 84-80 victory.
Down one with 1:16 remaining, the Irish turned to the ACC Rookie of the Year Markus Burton, who delivered the go-ahead and game-winning driving layup. Notre Dame’s defense also came up big in the final minute with two forced turnovers. Not to mention clutch free throws from Kebba Njie, Tae Davis and Braeden Shrewsberry.
The future was on display in the nation’s capital as Shrewsberry and Burton blew by the record for most points by a Notre Dame freshman in their ACC Tournament debut. First off, Shrewsberry scored a team-high 23 points, shooting 8-of-12 from the field, including 5-of-8 from three-point range. Four of Shrewsberry’s threes came in the second half. It marked his third game of 20+ this season.
Next, Burton followed right behind with 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting. The freshman guard also grabbed five boards and tied his season high in assists with eight. Burton has now produced five games of 20+ points over the last six games.
Kebba Njie tied his season high in points with 11 and nearly notched a double-double with nine rebounds. Furthermore, Tae Davis continued his hot end-of-season stretch with his sixth consecutive game in double figures. The sophomore earned 12 points, three rebounds and three assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Notre Dame kicked off ACC Tournament play by starting 7-of-11 from the field. The hot start resulted in a 13-1 scoring run as the Irish jumped out to a 17-5 lead. Next, Georgia Tech secured back-to-back three-point plays to narrow the gap until Matt Zona subbed in and punched back with back-to-back buckets under the rim.
By 10:33 in the first half, Burton was into double figures with his third trey of the game – already tying his season high. Moments later, Julian Roper II hit a three of his own to keep the Irish out front at 32-1, as ND started 6-of-10 from beyond the arc.
The Irish maintained their hot hand for the remainder of the half as they shot their second-highest first-half shooting percentage of the season at 62.1 percent (18-29 FG). As a result, they earned their highest first-half points total of the year, rolling into halftime up 45-35.
Burton led the way at the midway point with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting (3-of-5 from deep). Braeden Shrewsberry and Tae Davis followed suit with nine and eight points, respectively. The Irish out-rebounded the Yellow Jackets 15-11 in the opening half and only turned the ball over four times.
Shrewsberry connected on two from deep within the first 2.5 minutes of the second half to maintain a double-digit lead at the first media, up 55-43.
Up 11 with 14:18 remaining, the Irish got some magic from both Booth and Zona. First Booth drained a three, then 45 seconds later he threw down a monster dunk that hyped the ND bench. Next trip down the floor, Zona drained the team’s 10th three of the match, forcing Georgia Tech to call a timeout up 65-48. The 17-point advantage was Notre Dame’s largest lead of the game.
Unfortunately, Georgia Tech immediately rallied on the other side of the timeout, applying a full-court press. That 17-point Notre Dame lead was cut all the way down to two points with 7:51 on the clock. The Irish needed a basket badly and they got it seconds later with a corner three from Shrewsberry at the 7:13 media now up 74-69.
With 6:36 left, up just three, Shrewsberry answered again with his fifth trey of the game. Yet, Georgia Tech kept hitting shots, connecting on three in a row to claim their first lead of the match, 77-78.
Fast forward to 1:16 on the clock and the Irish were still down one. A big defensive board led to the fastbreak where Shrewsberry dished to Burton for the go-ahead layup. Now 81-80 with 1:09 remaining. Seconds later, the Irish defense forced a huge turnover, now just under a minute left.
Next offensive possession, the Irish killed some clock before Burton’s shot. The ball hit the rim but Davis got the huge offensive board and then got fouled. He then connected on two from the free throw line but the second didn’t count due to a foul.
Georgia Tech then had a chance for the tie or lead but the Irish defense delivered again with another forced turnover. Shrewsberry then went to the line and hit both free throws to push the Irish lead to four and ice it at 84-80.
UP NEXT
The Irish return to the court for Second Round action against 5th-seeded Wake Forest on Wednesday, March 13, at 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
— ND –