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Notre Dame Basketball

Notre Dame Wins Shootout Over Boston College 96-85

February 6, 2018
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The Irish withstood a ridiculous game from Jerome Robinson to snap their seven-game ACC losing streak, taking a 96-85 decision on Tuesday night at Purcell Pavilion. Robinson set a career-high with 46 points in the loss and also hit seven three-pointers.

"I knew it was big numbers," Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey said of Robinson's game. "I didn’t know it was that much. He was unbelievable. Rex (Pflueger) is our best defender and we have TJ (Gibbs) on him. We tried to double him and then he posted up.

“How do you escape that? Just score 96.”

The Irish improved to 14-10 overall and 4-7 in ACC play, shooting 53 percent for the game. T.J. Gibbs scored 28 points and hit five three-pointers to lead the Irish. The Eagles fell to 14-10 overall and 4-7 in ACC play and shot 49 percent.

Back to back hoops by Robinson cut the Irish lead to five with about two and a half minutes to go but Pflueger answered with a clutch jumper to beat the shot clock. The Irish led by nine with a minute to go and Pflueger then iced it with a corner three-pointer.

"That’s a little bit of the culture of this program," stated Brey. "Hitting big shots, especially in this building, it hasn’t happened in a while, but it was neat to see because those guys have delivered before.

“I thought Martinas was fabulous. His jump hook – he was really good around the bucket. It’s a good night for everybody.”

The Irish shot 55 percent from three-point range and had arguably their strongest offensive performance of the season.

Matt Farrell opened the half with a three-pointer to extend the Irish lead to 13, their largest of the game. John Mooney’s second three of the game, forced an Eagles timeout with 16:25 remaining and the Irish lead at 56-40.

"Matt is a little more comfortable with stuff. John (Mooney) being available," said Brey. "Johnny is going to score if he plays. It was kind of rotating toward needing a night like this – 21 assists. That looks familiar. Hopefully, we can stay in an offensive rhythm."

A 10-2 run by the Eagles made the game a bit closer, but a big three by Mooney got the lead back up to 15. The Irish led at the midway point of the half, 68-57 as the Eagles started to get hot from the field. It seemed as though every time the Eagles got hot so did the Irish. With back to back hoops by Robinson however, the lead fell to seven.

The Eagles continued to stay hot, hitting nine of ten shots at one point. Robinson set a new career-high in points with 37 to cut the lead to 70-66 with seven and a half minutes left in the game.

A big shot by Farrell, his fifth three-pointer of the game, gave the Irish an 80-73 advantage with four minutes to play.

The Irish led nearly the whole way, but with Robinson lurking the game never felt safe.

The Irish opened the game making five of their first six shots from the field, getting off to a much better start on offense than previous ACC games. The Irish led 11-9 about four minutes into the game. The Irish weren’t the only team that got hot early, the Eagles stayed right with them in the early going.

Gibbs had an outstanding start, hitting all four of his three-pointers to give the Irish a nine-point lead. The Irish led 28-16 at the midway point of the half, shooting over 60 percent. A three-pointer by Robinson cut the lead to seven as the Eagles began to catch fire again.

A layup by Farrell got the lead back up to nine with about six minutes to play in the half but missed the free throw and wasn’t able to complete the three-point play.

Another Robinson three cut the Irish lead to four as he became the game’s leading scorer with 16 points. The Irish led 37-31 at the final media timeout of the half with 3:23 to play.

Gibbs banked in a three at the first half buzzer to give the Irish a 47-38 lead going into the locker room. Gibbs led the scoring with a game-high 22 points as the Irish shot an even 50 percent from the field. The Eagles shot 48 percent, and Robinson paced the scoring with 18 points.

Player of the Game: Robinson. The Boston College guard had the best game of his career and nearly won it single-handedly. The Irish were lucky to have such an outstanding offensive game that they were able to withstand it.

Unsung Hero: Farrell. The senior guard finally looked like his old self again with 19 points and seven assists, and also hit five threes.

Up Next: The Irish will take on the Florida State Seminoles on Saturday at 4 P.M. at Purcell Pavilion.

Irish Sports Daily
FINAL BOX SCORE

 

 
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