Notre Dame at Wake Forest Box Score
The University of Notre Dame men’s basketball team (19-8, 12-4) battled back and forth with Wake Forest (21-7, 11-6) at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Saturday afternoon, eventually falling for the first time in five games 79-74. The game featured 12 lead changes and four ties as two of the best teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference went at each other with scoring runs, defense and shot making.
Freshman Blake Wesely led the Irish with 24 points, connecting on a career-best six three-point field goals. He led four Irish players in double figures, while Jake LaRavia (20 points) and Aldones Williams (23) paced the Wake Forest scoring.
HOW IT HAPPENED
LaRavia scored the first seven points of the game for Wake Forest and also drew two early fouls on Paul Atkinson Jr. to send the Irish big man to the bench before the first media timeout.
The Deacon earned a 12-6 lead at that first break, but Irish answered with four consecutive three point field goals from Cormac Ryan, Trey Wertz, Nate Laszewski and Prentiss Hubb to force a Wake Forest timeout and take 18-16 lead with 12:24 left.
The run grew to 12-0 for the Irish with more three pointers from Wesley and a second from Laszewski, but Wake Forest came right back with their own 9-0 run to earn a 25-24 lead with 7:59 remaining.
Wesley then stepped up for his own personal 8-0 run, hitting a three in transition off a great find from Hubb, stepping back for one in the offensive set then getting a steal run out and lay up to push the Irish up 32-25 with 6:21 left.
The rookie wasn’t done, either. He picked off another pass at the top of the defense and found Hubb streaking for a reverse lay up, then hit yet another deep three pointer to push the Irish up 39-29 with 3:29 left.
The lead inched up to 41-29 until the Irish hit foul trouble late in the half. Laszewski was whistled for his second, then Atkinson Jr. was called for his third – and might not have even committed one real infraction in the first 20 minutes.
Wake Forest was able to end the half on a 6-0 run, four of those points coming from the free throw line to cut the ND lead to 41-35 at the break.
The home team hit its first three three-point field goals of the second half to cut into the Irish lead, but each time Notre Dame had an answer to maintain a slim lead. Free throws from Ryan and Goodwin, a transition three from Hubb and a lay up from Atkinson Jr. off a great feed from Hubb kept the Irish up 53-50 with 14:30 left.
The Deacons moved up by one point with 13:30 left but again the Irish had an immediate answer. Hubb drove and connected on a baseline jumper, then drove into the lane again, turned around and found Wesley open for his career-best sixth three pointer of the game to push the Irish back up two at 58-56.
It was Wake Forest’s turn to answer. A 6-0 run put the home team up 62-61 with 7:29 left. A 1-for-7 stretch from the field for Notre Dame allowed the Deacons to get the lead back.
After a Notre Dame timeout, Atkinson Jr. put back his own miss to give the Irish the lead right back. The Irish defense then earned the stops they needed for a few possessions but could not answer on their offensive end until Laszewski drilled a three pointer at the top of the key to put the Irish up one with 4:30 left.
Yet again, Wake Forest answered with one-on-one plays from Willams and Khadi Sy to push the home team lead back to three points. Wesley drove and earned two free throws, but Williams came back to put Wake Forest up three with 1:50 left.
After two more free throws from Notre Dame, Williams was fed the ball in the post and the Irish defense double teamed him. He tossed it out to Isaiah Mucius who connected on a three pointer for what turned out to be the decisive points advantage in the game.
Wesley drove and found Ryan in the corner for a three pointer to cut the lead to two and on the next possession Ryan also had a clean look to tie the game, but the shot rimmed out and Wake Forest secured their victory from the free throw line.
NOTES
The six three-point field goals for Wesley are the most of his young career and mark the most since Laszewski hit seven against North Carolina last season • it also marked the seventh 20-point game of his career.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame heads back to Purcell Pavilion to face Syracuse on Wednesday, February 23, 2022, at 7 p.m. ET on ESPNews.