The Irish Men’s Basketball team ended their three-game skid with a 97-94 road victory in Chestnut Hill on Wednesday that required two extra periods.
Photo via Notre Dame Athletics
In the first half, Boston College shot the lights out, knocking down 7-12 three-point attempts from five different players. The Eagles’ well-rounded effort gave them a 41-35 advantage heading into the half. For Notre Dame, Markus Burton led the charge on offense with 10 points including a three in his 16 minutes played. Perhaps one reason for the Irish’s eventual win was their ability to stay away from fouling, as the Eagles missed their lone free throw attempt of the half. On the counter, Notre Dame shot 4-6 from the stripe, marking four huge points in a game that ended with the Irish winning by just three.
The Irish finished the first half shooting 48.3% from the field and 37.5% from three. In addition to these subpar shooting splits, they were also outscored 16-8 in bench points; Boston College’s Fred Payne outscored the Irish bench himself as he poured in nine points on 3-4 shooting from deep in just nine minutes played off the bench.
Boston College came out hot after the break, tying their largest lead of 14 points with 14:10 remaining in the game. The Irish comeback was led by Burton’s 14 second-half points on 6-8 shooting from the field. He scored the last four Irish points including two clutch free throws with 26 seconds to play to tie the game at 80 and ultimately force overtime. Behind Burton, Tae Davis contributed 12 points (4-7 FGs) and Braeden Shrewsberry added 11 including two threes in the second half. The Eagles’ offense was led by Chad Venning who scored 13 points on 6-9 shooting from the field. Notably, it was his foul on Burton that allowed the game to go to overtime.
Burton and Venning traded buckets to open the first overtime to tie the game up at 82 with 3:33 remaining. Burton knocked down two free throws and then Kebba Njie went 1-2 from the stripe to give the Irish a three-point lead with 1:26 to play. Unfortunately, the Eagles’ Donald Hand Jr. buried a three on the next possession to bring the score to 85 apiece. Burton and Venning then exchanged missed jumpers to force a second overtime.
Both offenses came back to life in the second overtime as the sides began trading baskets to open the frame. It was Davis who added four points on back-to-back possessions and extended the Irish lead to five with 2:38 to play. The Eagles stormed back with a 6-0 run to put the home squad up 94-93 with 1:20 left. Following careless Boston College offensive possessions and missed Burton free throws, Njie put back a Burton missed layup to give the Irish a 95-94 lead with 16 seconds remaining. Burton made up for his prior missed free throws with two makes to ice the game with one second left in the contest, finally ending the Irish’s three-game skid. The Irish star finished with a new career-high 32 points as this win marked the largest comeback in Notre Dame’s Coach Shrewsberry era.
Key Player Stats:
Markus Burton: 32 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, +8, 46 minutes played
Tae Davis: 20 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, +3, 48 minutes played
Kebba Njie: 7 points (3-4 FGs), 12 rebounds, 2 blocks, +6, 30 minutes played
Key Team Stats:
Field Goal Percentage: BC (54%) - ND (47%)
Three Point Percentage: BC (48%) - ND (30%)
Turnovers: BC (13) - ND (9)Total Rebounds: ND (40) - BC (34)
Second Chance Points: ND (20) - BC (6)
This Sunday, the Irish are set to host the Louisville Cardinals, one of the best teams in the ACC this year. We will see if Notre Dame can carry this double-overtime victory momentum into a date against a talented opponent this weekend.
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