Photo by Rick Kimball/ISD
Notre Dame Basketball
Irish Get Big 76-71 Win in Blacksburg
January 14, 2017
4,571
The 20th-ranked Irish (16-2, 5-0) took on the Virginia Tech Hokies(13-4, 2-3) Saturday afternoon in Blacksburg at Cassell Coliseum. The Irish hung on down the stretch for a 76-71 victory over the Hokies. Thanks to some big hustle plays by Matt Farrell late in the game, the Irish won their 5th straight ACC game and 7th straight overall.
The Irish were led by Steve Vasturia who scored 20 points on 8 of 14 shooting, the Irish shot 52% for the game. The Hokies shot 50% and were led by Chris Clarke's 21 points.
The teams traded baskets in the first few minutes of the half with the Irish holding a seven point advantage after a Vasturia pull up jumper. The Irish led 46-39 at the first TV timeout with 15:58 remaining. The Hokie crowd was very loud early in the half as they tried to will their team back into the game.
Notre Dame got the lead back to 11 after T.J. Gibbs scored on drives to the basket on back to back possessions. Gibbs was aggressive taking the ball to the basket which gave the Irish a much needed shot in the arm.
The Hokies however, would not go away as Chris Clarke completed a three-point play to cut the lead to 54-45 with 11:32 to play. Virginia Tech used a 9-0 run to cut the lead to five after a Clarke drive with 8:45 to go. Colson put a stop momentarily to the Hokie run with a three-point play of his own. A Justin Robinson three made it a one possession game at 57-54 going into the under eight minute TV timeout.
Robinson became unconscious after another three and a driving layup to tie the game at 59 with six and a half minutes left. Vasturia came up huge as usual with a deep three to give the Irish the lead back. Going into the final TV timeout of the game with 2:41 to go the score was tied at 64.
The Hokies opened the game with consecutive baskets before the Irish got on the board via a three-pointer by Vasturia. The Irish opened up their first lead at 7-6 after a bucket in traffic by Bonzie Colson. The Irish started hot, hitting 9 of their first 13 shots, opening up a seven point lead, 21-14 going into the first TV timeout with 11:01 left in the half.
"Big Shot Steve" started the game well, making 4 of 6 shots with 10 points, making it his 15th double digit scoring game and sixth in a row to build the Irish lead to 29-14. Gibbs added a nice spark with a jump hook and a three-pointer. The lead ballooned to 19 after a Vasturia layup and the Irish extended their scoring run to 21-2 with 7:35 left.
The Hokies ended the run after eight consecutive points by Seth Allen cut the Irish lead to eleven. The lead was ten going into the final TV timeout of the half. The Hokies went on a 13-4 run to make the game close again getting the crowd back into it. Thanks to a open layup by Khadim Sy, the Hokies cut the lead to single digits with 2:22 left in the half.
The Irish led 39-31 at the half thanks to a 55 percent shooting first half and they were led by Vasturia's 12 points. The Hokies shot 46 percent from the field with Allen being the leading scorer with 11. The Irish led for over 15 minutes in the first half, with their largest lead being 19.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Vasturia. Coming off a cold start Thursday in Miami, the senior captain put up 20 points with three three-pointers and added four rebounds and four assists.
TURNING POINT: After a V.J. Beachem bucket to put the Irish up 70-67, the Hokies rolled up the ball up the floor and Matt Farrell dove on the ground and stole it, then preceded to get up and drive to basket and find a wide open Gibbs for a layup to essentially clinch the game.
WHAT'S NEXT: The Irish travel to Tallahassee to take on the Florida State Seminoles on Wednesday night. Both teams are undefeated in ACC play. Tip is at 7:00 p.m. ET.
The Irish were led by Steve Vasturia who scored 20 points on 8 of 14 shooting, the Irish shot 52% for the game. The Hokies shot 50% and were led by Chris Clarke's 21 points.
The teams traded baskets in the first few minutes of the half with the Irish holding a seven point advantage after a Vasturia pull up jumper. The Irish led 46-39 at the first TV timeout with 15:58 remaining. The Hokie crowd was very loud early in the half as they tried to will their team back into the game.
Notre Dame got the lead back to 11 after T.J. Gibbs scored on drives to the basket on back to back possessions. Gibbs was aggressive taking the ball to the basket which gave the Irish a much needed shot in the arm.
The Hokies however, would not go away as Chris Clarke completed a three-point play to cut the lead to 54-45 with 11:32 to play. Virginia Tech used a 9-0 run to cut the lead to five after a Clarke drive with 8:45 to go. Colson put a stop momentarily to the Hokie run with a three-point play of his own. A Justin Robinson three made it a one possession game at 57-54 going into the under eight minute TV timeout.
Robinson became unconscious after another three and a driving layup to tie the game at 59 with six and a half minutes left. Vasturia came up huge as usual with a deep three to give the Irish the lead back. Going into the final TV timeout of the game with 2:41 to go the score was tied at 64.
The Hokies opened the game with consecutive baskets before the Irish got on the board via a three-pointer by Vasturia. The Irish opened up their first lead at 7-6 after a bucket in traffic by Bonzie Colson. The Irish started hot, hitting 9 of their first 13 shots, opening up a seven point lead, 21-14 going into the first TV timeout with 11:01 left in the half.
"Big Shot Steve" started the game well, making 4 of 6 shots with 10 points, making it his 15th double digit scoring game and sixth in a row to build the Irish lead to 29-14. Gibbs added a nice spark with a jump hook and a three-pointer. The lead ballooned to 19 after a Vasturia layup and the Irish extended their scoring run to 21-2 with 7:35 left.
The Hokies ended the run after eight consecutive points by Seth Allen cut the Irish lead to eleven. The lead was ten going into the final TV timeout of the half. The Hokies went on a 13-4 run to make the game close again getting the crowd back into it. Thanks to a open layup by Khadim Sy, the Hokies cut the lead to single digits with 2:22 left in the half.
The Irish led 39-31 at the half thanks to a 55 percent shooting first half and they were led by Vasturia's 12 points. The Hokies shot 46 percent from the field with Allen being the leading scorer with 11. The Irish led for over 15 minutes in the first half, with their largest lead being 19.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Vasturia. Coming off a cold start Thursday in Miami, the senior captain put up 20 points with three three-pointers and added four rebounds and four assists.
TURNING POINT: After a V.J. Beachem bucket to put the Irish up 70-67, the Hokies rolled up the ball up the floor and Matt Farrell dove on the ground and stole it, then preceded to get up and drive to basket and find a wide open Gibbs for a layup to essentially clinch the game.
WHAT'S NEXT: The Irish travel to Tallahassee to take on the Florida State Seminoles on Wednesday night. Both teams are undefeated in ACC play. Tip is at 7:00 p.m. ET.
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