CLEMSON, S.C. – Whenever you start a game on a cold spell, the worst that could happen is the other team starting hot, because then you find yourself in an early hole that’s hard to climb out of. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened to the Notre Dame men’s basketball squad (11-20, 3-17) against the Clemson Tigers (22-9, 14-6) on Saturday night inside Littlejohn Coliseum.
In the first half, the Tigers started 5-of-7 from three (before finishing with eight made threes in the half), shot 57 percent from the field and outscored ND 48-29. Clemson then rode that momentum to the 87-64 final.
Notre dame graduate guard Cormac Ryan recorded his second consecutive game with at least 19 points and fourth straight in double digits. Ryan shot 7-of-18 from the field. Graduate forward Nate Laszewski joined him in double figures with 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting. Laszewski also grabbed a team high nine boards. Both Ryan and Laszewski recorded their 20th games in double figures this season.
Lastly, Matt Zona recorded a career high 10 points on a 3-of-6 night.
How It Happened
Notre Dame started 1-for-11 from the field while Clemson started 7-of-12, with five of those made field goals coming from beyond the arc. As a result, the Irish instantly found themselves in a pit, looking up at a 20-3 deficit.
Clemson just didn’t seem to miss any open shots in the first half, finishing 17-of-30 overall and 8-of-15 from three. In comparison, Notre Dame shot 10-of-32 and 4-of-15 from three-point range. The Tigers also doubled up the Irish on the boards at 24-12.
Cormac Ryan led the Irish at the half with 10 points. On the flipside, Clemson had five players with six or more points in a balanced attack. The 48 points were the most surrendered by the Irish in a first half this season.
The second half was a much more competitive affair. Halfway through the half, the Irish were outpacing the Tigers 22-21. Over the first 10 minutes, ND received threes from Hammond, Zona and a pair from Ryan.
A highlight of the second half was Matt Zona – who scored eight of his 10 points in the half.
With two minutes left in the game, both sides emptied their benches. Clemson ended up taking the second half 37-35. Clemson finished the game 51 percent from the field, knocking down 31-of-61. Notre Dame finished 34 percent at 21-of-61. Both sides connected on double-digit threes, ND’s 10 to CU’s 13.
Up Next
The Irish will bus straight to Greensboro, North Carolina, on Sunday morning in preparation of the opening round of the ACC Tournament – which gets underway on Tuesday, March 7. The 14th-seeded Irish will first clash with 11th-seeded Virginia Tech at 7 p.m. inside the Greensboro Coliseum on Tuesday. In their one previous matchup this season, the Hokies took it in South Bend, 93-87.
— ND –