Hubb for the Dub: Notre Dame guard, with ice in his veins, lifts Irish
No timeouts, no margin for error.
No problem for Prentiss Hubb.
The clock with a scant 4.2 seconds left and the lead a meager 67-65, Notre Dame’s senior point guard calmly swished his only two free-throw attempts of the game.
The Irish finally got a defensive stop as the buzzer sounded, and in the process they emerged 69-65 victors against erstwhile nemesis Virginia before a crowd of 8,495 inside Purcell Pavilion.
“I pride myself; I got ice in my veins,” Hubb said postgame. “I’m going to make them shots when it counts, I’m not even gonna lie to you. It’s just being confident, like Paul (Atkinson) was saying.
“It’s just repetition, working in the gym every day. I went up to the free throw line, and wasn’t worried, my hands wasn’t wet (with sweat) or anything. Just going up there to shoot my normal shot that I shoot every day.”
Sweaty palms didn’t seem to be in the offing for Notre Dame (14-6, 7-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) when it pounced to a 52-37 edge deep into the second half.
But Virginia (12-9, 6-5) long has been a hurdle uncleared for the Irish, who entered this game 0-11 against the Cavaliers during ACC regular-season play. Jayden Gardner led all scorers with 22 for Virginia, which also got 13 from Reece Beekman.
These Irish, however, are borne of their scars from the previous three seasons absorbing 46 losses before the 2021-22 campaign ever tipped off.
Now, when Kihei Clark hits a 3-pointer to bring the Cavs (_) within two, 67-65, with just eight ticks on the clock, Notre Dame possesses the resolve to withstand allowing its guests a dozen points in less than the final 60 seconds.
Hubb, he of just one turnover in his last 106 minutes of court-time, including back-to-back turnover-free games, is going to finish the project.
“Well, in the huddle, talking about, ‘Well, what are we going to do defensively?’ and I said, ‘Would you just win it?’,” Irish coach Mike Brey recalled. “Just win it. Let’s get out of here.
“He says, ‘Yeah, I got you. I got you.’ He has been, at crunch-time, say all you want about ole P-Hubb, he is never afraid and he loves the moment.”
Hubb finished with seven points, none bigger than his final two, and he added three assists in 36 minutes. Nate Laszewski and Dane Goodwin teamed for 32 points, 16 apiece, while Paul Atkinson Jr. and Blake Wesley each delivered 14.
Notre Dame was hammered, 39-26, on the boards and also saw the Cavaliers outscore them 14-0 in second-chance points, as well as 38-24 in points in the paint.
But the Irish connected on 10 triples – Goodwin and Laszewski were a combined 7-for-11 – and also outscored Virginia, 15-8 at the free-throw line.
This, despite the fact that Notre Dame missed multiple front-end 1-and-1s.
The Irish led more than 34 minutes of game time, the contest was tied just three times and ultimately they prevailed for the 10th time in 11 games.
“I mean when you say that, that’s not really surprising,” Hubb said. “We’re a really good team. We’ve just got to go out and execute, ourselves.
“We played well with their slow pace, took a couple bad shots here and there but we valued our possessions throughout the game.”
In so doing, Notre Dame remained perfect this season at home – 9-0 – and set up Monday night’s ESPN showdown against Duke with first place on the line in the ACC.
“I think again today is another step in confidence,” Brey said. “Our old guys, we’ve not been able to beat (Virginia). It’s so mental now. It’s all about the fabric, and fabric meaning the group. It’s the fabric. It’s fabric time. This group, these seven guys really know who they are and like playing together. I think that’s an advantage we have over other teams. Our fabric is so strong.”
