COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Notre Dame men’s basketball team will learn from this one, but endured a 63-64 heartbreaker on Sunday afternoon at Ohio State. The Fighting Irish led by as much as 11 points in the first half and imposed their will early in front of over 12,000 raucous Buckeye fans.
However, missed layups and foul calls ultimately hurt the Blue & Gold, who played solid defense for a majority of the matchup, limiting a hot-shooting OSU squad to 64 points, 31 below their early-season average.
The Irish were up one after a Shrewsberry jumper made it 63-62 with two minutes left. After, the Irish had two opportunities to extend the lead, or take the lead at the buzzer, but just couldn’t convert.
Carson Towt recorded eight points and 12 rebounds on Sunday, making it four double-digit rebounds to start the season. That’s the best double-digit rebounding start since at least 1996.
Jalen Haralson secured his second straight game in double figures with 13 points. The freshman also had a team-high three assists and team team-best two steals.
Breaden Shrewsberry scored eight of his 11 total points in the second half, converting 4-7 from the field and 2-3 from three. Markus Burton earned a team-high 14 points behind an 8-9 performance from the free-throw line.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Garrett Sundra scored the first five points for the Irish, but it was an early 8-0 run, which earned some separation at the first media timeout at 14:10 with ND up 11-6. Sundra, Mohammed, Towt and Burton all contributed during the scoring spree.
Notre Dame extended the hot hand to a 7-8 shooting stretch, while the defense stepped up and limited Ohio State to a 1-8 stretch. By 10:24, six different Irish had scored, building a 19-10
While the Irish were 10-12 from the floor over the nine-minute stretch, the Buckeyes went on a run of their own as an 8-0 run closed the gap to three at 23-20. Turnovers plagued the Irish, committing four over a 3.5 minute stretch which spurred the Buckeyes charge.
For over a two-minute timeframe starting at 5:09, both teams were being sent to the free-throw as Notre Dame maintained a small lead, 28-24. The Buckeyes fired off a short 5-0 spurt to end the half, but Notre Dame maintained the lead, up 34-31.
The Irish shot 14-24 (.583) with 24 of their points coming in the paint. Compare that to Ohio State’s 9-25 (.360) from the field and their eight paint points. The Irish led by as much as 11 twice, but nine turnovers coupled with eight fouls (OSU was 9-9 from free-throw line) allowed the Buckeyes to stick around.
Each side had one player in double figures at the half: Jalen Haralson had 10 points for Notre Dame while Bruce Thornton had 11 for Ohio State.
At 17:30 in the second half, Braeden Shrewsberry converted the team’s second three of the game, and a possession later, Burton converted an and-one, to give the Irish an early surge up 42-34. Then, after a Bruce Thornton triple, Sir Mohammed responded with a tough take in the paint to make it 44-37 at 15:53.
From that point on, the Irish had just one field goal on 1-5 shooting as Ohio State’s 7-2 run brought it within two at 46-44 heading into the 11:47 media timeout.
Next, the Buckeyes knocked down a pair of free throws coming out of the timeout to tie it up at 46-all, claiming the lead for the first time since 15:23 in the first half. Soon after, a Shrewsberry triple ended the team’s cold shooting drought, which was promptly followed by a Towt slam on the fastbreak. A pair of Burton free throws then tied the game at 53-all at the 7:58 media.
The momentum continued to swing back and forth as OSU went up 59-53, their largest of the game. Then the Irish responded with a 6-0 run, kick-started by a Haralson and-one, to tie it once more. OSU’s Thornton soon after converted his fourth triple (his 24th point of the match) to give the Buckeyes a 62-59 lead at the final media timeout (3:24 remaining).
Burton and Shrewsberry rallied the squad to a 63-62 lead, but just couldn’t convert on the final three possessions. OSU’s Tilly had the game-winner with 13 seconds left.
UP NEXT
The Fighting Irish return home to regroup when they host Bellarmine on Wednesday, November 19, at 7 p.m. ET inside Purcell Pavilion. The following week, the Irish jet to Las Vegas for the 2025 Players Era Championship.
– ND –