Markus Burton Leads Notre Dame Past Georgia Tech 71-68

Tuesday night felt a little familiar for Notre Dame (10-10, 4-5) as the final minutes ticked away against Georgia Tech (9-12, 3-7). 

Markus Burton changed it.

The Mishakwaka native hit a three-pointer with 1:49 left in the game to give Notre Dame its first lead of the night and the Irish closed out Georgia Tech 71-68. 

It’s a game Notre Dame probably shouldn’t have won, but they did. Head coach Micah Shrewsberry has unfortunately seen his team lose in a variety of ways and Tuesday was going to be a new one for the list until Burton took over. 

“We’ve been in a lot of situations,” stated Shrewsberry. “We’ve been up big and people have come back to beat us. We’ve been down big and we storm back. We haven’t been down the entire game and needed possession after possession after possession. They led for basically 37 minutes of the game. Our guys stuck around and just founds a way to win at the end.” 

Burton scored 18 of his game-high 26 points in the final 20 minutes of the game after a slow start coming out of the locker room at halftime. 

Notre Dame started the second with Burton getting blocked on three separate possession, two turnovers and then two missed shots. In fact, the Irish didn’t score a bucket after halftime until Burton scored with 14:52 left in the game. 

The slow start was a concern, yet Notre Dame didn’t panic. 

“Maybe we need to practice more at 9pm and 10pm,” said Shrewsberry. “I didn’t think we started either half well at all. I thought we were sleepwalking a little bit. You kept looking at the score. You use a timeout and stuff happens. It’s only 43-37. We hadn’t been very good, but we haven’t let them get away from us. It was still right there for us and it was still pretty manageable for us.” 

Burton has now scored 20 or more points in five straight games. The sophomore guard also shot 52 percent the field on Tuesday, which is a credit to his teammates creating plays for him. 

“It’s great,” Shrewsberry said. “He hits those two dagger threes because those other guys set him up. That’s the biggest thing. It’s such a huge weapon. He’s put so much work in that he’s shooting it at a great level and confidently. The difference between last year and this year, he’s getting more catch and shoot threes. We have more people who are making plays for him.

“Markus played efficiently and that’s what he’s been doing lately.” 

Shrewsberry is right.

Burton may have the stats, but it was Notre Dame’s defense down the stretch that won the game. The Irish used an impressive 13-0 run to win the game down the stretch. 

In fact, Yellow Jackets were held scoreless for 5:22 as Lance Terry ended the run with a layup with 13 seconds left to play. 

“This is an opportunity for us,” Shrewsberry explained. “When you needed some buckets, we had to get them. We had to get stops late when we needed them. We had to get rebounds late when we needed them. It’s just more to put in the bank. We can do this.” 

A year ago, Notre Dame would have likely lost this game. It shows growth in the program that Shrewsberry’s squad can make crucial plays on both ends of the floor. 

Notre Dame big man Kebba Njie might have only scored six points, but his nine rebounds and defensive presence was huge during the comeback. 

“We really locked in on the defensive end,” Njie stated. “That’s all it was. We really wanted to win at the end of the game. We were saying it in the huddle. We just needed a couple stops and we were going to score.” 

Now, Georgia Tech isn’t an ACC contender, but the win gives the Irish program some much-needed confidence as they hit the road for a two-game stretch.

“It just shows who we really are,” stated Burton. “There were times we could have given up and let Georgia Tech continue to beat us. We stood on it. We competed until the buzzer went off. I give credit to my teammates for fighting. It was a hard fought game.” 

Braeden Shrewsbery finished with 15 points and was the only other Irish player to score in double figures. Naithan George led Georgia Tech with 20 points, six rebound and six assists, while Duncan Powell added 18 points and three boards. 

UP NEXT
Notre Dame will head to Miami to take on the Hurricanes on Saturday night. Tip is set for 8:00 PM on ESPN2. 

Want the latest scoop on the Fighting Irish? Sign up for our newsletter and become an ISD Premium Subscriber: Sign Up for ISD

Notre Dame Fighting Irish OHT Military Appreciation Quarter-Zip