Irish Can't Overcome Hurricanes On Monday Night
Notre Dame battled but ultimately fell late to the Miami Hurricanes 77-74 on Monday night at Purcell Pavilion. Big offensive rebounds by the Hurricanes with under a minute to play helped them snap a three-game losing streak.
Lonnie Walker IV scored 19 points as the Hurricanes improved to 19-8 and 8-7 in ACC play. Both the Irish and Hurricanes shot 53 percent from the field. Martinas Geben paced the Irish with 19 points who suffered a devastating home loss. The Irish fell to 16-12 and 6-9 in conference play.
"We gave ourselves a chance, but sometimes you have to take your hat off to the other team," stated Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey. "I thought Walker’s shots were backbreakers and they were tough shots. We couldn’t keep the big fella off the backboard and that really hurt us.
“We wanted to try and go 2-0 on a Saturday/Monday. We couldn’t get it. I thought Miami played brilliantly.”
The Irish trailed by five with under five minutes to go, looking to pull a win out of the hat. A couple of bad turnovers led to the Hurricanes extending the lead as the Irish started to run out of time.
A big three-pointer by Mooney got the Irish back without five with about two and a half minutes to play.
The Irish shot just 35 percent from downtown compared to 61 percent against Boston College on Saturday.
The Irish began the second half hot, hitting three of their first four shots out of the break. Unfortunately, the Hurricanes didn’t let up and still maintained a ten-point lead about four minutes into the second half. The Irish answered back with five straight points to get the crowd involved. The Hurricanes led 47-42 with 13:24 to go in the game.
A three-point play by Geben made it a one-possession game as the Irish bench got the crowd to its feet. Farrell then tied it with a deep three-pointer which forced a Hurricanes timeout. The run extended to 9-0 as Djogo knocked down a three-pointer to give the Irish their first lead since late in the first half.
The Irish led 62-57 with under eight minutes to go after a three-point play by Elijah Burns. The Hurricanes quickly responded with a 10-0 run to quiet the crowd and retake the lead with about five minutes to play.
"We’ve become a pretty good defensive team and our numbers say it," stated Brey. "We couldn’t defend them like we’ve been defending and it was a little frustrating on all fronts.
“They have a lot of athletic ability. They have some guys that can take you off the dribble and make what would be a bad shot a good shot because they lift.”
The Irish outscored the Hurricanes 40-28 in the paint as Geben has another strong game.
Geben hit his first two shots and had six early points for the Irish who looked ready to go early. The Hurricanes started off just as hot-hitting four of their first five shots. The Hurricanes led 16-8 following a 9-0 run highlighted by a pull-up by Walker with 13:46 to play in the first half.
Farrell finally put a stop to the run with a three-pointer, his first points of the game. A couple of hoops by Torres highlighted a 10-0 run by the Irish as they retook the lead. The Irish defense stepped up as the Hurricanes went nearly five minutes without any points. The Irish led 18-16 with under eight minutes to play before the half.
"He's thoroughly exhausted," Brey said of Farrell. "I respect the heck out of the guy. I'm glad I get to coach him some more."
Despite the Hurricanes going incredibly cold, the Irish were unable to extend their small lead. Waardenburg finally stopped the scoring drought with a three-pointer to tie the game at 20. The Hurricanes then picked up the lead after a three-point play by Huell. With 3:36 to go in the half, the Hurricanes led 29-24.
After an electrifying three-point play by Lykes, the Hurricanes took their largest lead of the half before Farrell answered with a three-pointer. A three-pointer at the buzzer by Walker gave the Hurricanes a 38-29 halftime lead.
Geben was the high scorer in the half with 12 points for the Irish who shot 44 percent. Walker led the Hurricanes with 11 points, and the team shot 53 percent.
Player of the Game: Geben. The senior had another strong performance and was a big offensive focus with both Farrell and T.J. Gibbs not having great games.
Unsung Hero: Austin Torres. The big man scored eight points despite averaging about two points per game the entire season. His first half buckets helped keep the Irish close.
Up Next: The Irish travel to Winston-Salem, North Carolina on Saturday afternoon to take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at 3 P.M.
