ND MBB at Louisville Box Score
The University of Notre Dame men’s basketball team (12-6, 5-2) utilized a dominant second half for a 82-70 at Louisville (11-8, 5-4) at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday afternoon.
The Irish were led by a game-high 22 points from freshman Blake Wesley, along with 13 points each from Paul Atkinson Jr. and Dane Goodwin.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The early portion of the game was defined by two runs from both teams. The Irish started off loose with the ball, committing three turnovers in their first four possessions to fall behind 7-0. Notre Dame answered, though, with a 13-0 run of its own which was highlighted by three consecutive three pointers from Goodwin, then Wesley in transition, then Goodwin again.
The teams traded huge three point field goals back and forth over the next portion of the contest. Louisville’s Jarod West came off the bench and hit three consecutive NBA-range three pointers, but the Irish answered right back with two from behind the arc from Prentiss Hubb and one from Nate Laszewski.
The Irish started the game 6-for-6 from three point range while the Cardinals were 6-of-8 to start.
Louisville took control of the game with around five minutes left in the first half behind a 10-0 run. The Cardinals hit end-of-the-shot-clock deep contested three pointers, fade away contested jumpers and basically connected on every shot they threw up to earn a 40-31 lead with 4:18 left.
The Irish crawled back into the game, holding the Cardinals without a bucket for over three minutes but Louisville threw in another deep contested three pointer just before halftime to earn a 45-38 advantage at the break.
Notre Dame was able to erase the deficit quickly at the start of the second half. Five straight points from Paul Atkinson Jr., a drive from Laszewski and a transition three pointer from Trey Wertz put the Irish up 48-47 just three minutes into the half.
The teams battled back and forth as Notre Dame heated up from behind the line. Consecutive three pointers from Wertz, Hubb and Cormac Ryan gave the Irish a 59-58 lead with 11:38 left.
Ryan stepped up again with a huge three pointer to tie the game at 62-62 then Wesley checked in and started doing Blake Wesley things. He connected on back-to-back three pointers, then drove the length of the court for a lay in ‘and-one’ and suddenly the Irish had a seven point lead with 6:51 left.
The run built up to a 19-3 streak, as Wesley crossed the 20-point barrier. The Irish hit six consecutive shots and entered the game’s final four minutes with a 79-65 advantage. The Notre Dame defense would hold the Cardinals without a field goal for over five minutes.
Louisville would draw no closer and the Irish defense would end up holding the Cardinals to just 25 points and one three pointer in the second half.
NEXT UP
Notre Dame will return to Purcell Pavilion for three consecutive home games, starting with NC State on Wednesday, January 26, 2022, at 9 p.m.