SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Absolute heartbreak inside Purcell Pavilion on Saturday afternoon. The Notre Dame men’s basketball team went toe-to-toe with North Carolina but fell in the final seconds, 73-74. The Fighting Irish (7-7, 1-2) fought back down 12 in the first half and claimed a three-point lead in the final 20 seconds. However, the Tar Heels (9-6, 2-1) converted a four-point play with 4.8 seconds on the clock. A returning Markus Burton drove the paint and got off a contested shot but it didn’t fall.
It was an absolute gritty effort from Burton who returned to the court for the first time since November 26. He scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half. He shot 7-of-14 from the field and 9-of-10 from the free-throw line.
Tae Davis and Braeden Shrewsberrry also made big plays down the stretch. Davis scored 11 of his 17 points in the second half. Shrewsberry had eight points each half and finished with four triples and a team high six rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
A J.R. Konieczny three-pointer at 12:47 tied the game at 12-all. Then North Carolina took control over the next four minutes, sinking 7-of-9 from the field to go up 14-26.
Matt Allocco and Brareden Shrewsberry connected on back-to-back treys to cut into the lead, 20-26; soon after Markus Burton recorded back-to-back buckets to keep the Irish close at 24-29.
Later, Davis and Burton combined for a short 6-0 flurry to stay within range, down 30-35. However, the Tar Heels then took advantage of nine Notre Dame first half fouls, scoring from the free-throw line to garner a 32-39 halftime advantage.
North Carolina’s Ian Jackson was a problem. The freshman guard scored 17 points in the first half on 6-of-10 shooting.
Out of the break, the Tar Heels jumped out to a 36-47 lead at the 16:00 mark. That’s when the Markus Burton difference took effect. The Mishawaka native scored 10 points of what was a 12-0 Irish run to push ahead for a 48-47 lead at 13:09.
The Fighting Irish lived up to their moniker down the stretch in this intense game. Case in point, there were 11 lead changes in the final 13 minutes of this game.
Down 51-52, the three headed monster of Burton, Davis and Shrewsberry combined to score the next 20 points for the Irish. Burton was getting to the free-throw line. Davis was converting tough shots around the rim. Shrewsberry hit two clutch threes.
The above trio supplied the offensive power while others contributed in other areas. Freshman forward Garrett Sundra supplied 18 quality minutes and great defense. Julian Roper II was pesky on defense and collected three steals.
From 13 minutes on, the lead for either team never got above four points. So now let’s fast forward to 22 seconds remaining.
UNC’s Elliott Cadeau converted a layup to cut the Irish lead to one. Eight seconds later, two Allocco free throws put the home squad up three. On the ensuing play, Cadeau drained a three and was fouled on the play. He later converted the free throw. Burton then took the ball up and got a good look near the rim but couldn’t get it to fall as the Irish lost 73-74.
UP NEXT
Irish fans will have to tune in to their TVs to catch the action because six of the next eight are on the road. Next week, the Irish will stay out in North Carolina for a double dip of Triangle basketball. It’ll start with NC State on Wednesday, Jan. 8. Then they’ll play Duke on Saturday, Jan. 11.
– ND –