DALLAS – The Notre Dame men’s basketball team battled until the very end against SMU inside Moody Coliseum, but ultimately dropped an 81-89 shootout on Tuesday night. The Fighting Irish (11-14, 2-10) erased a 10-point first-half deficit and claimed a three-point lead in the second half. That’s when the Mustangs (17-7, 6-5) fired off a 19-2 run, but even then, the Irish battled back within six multiple times, but just couldn’t get over the final hump by the final buzzer.
Notre Dame shot over 50 percent in each half, finishing the game 31-58 from the field. SMU countered with a strong shooting performance as well, finishing 32-61. The Mustangs used their size as a major strength tonight, outrebounding ND, 38-26, to boast a 17-8 advantage in second-chance points.
Four Irish finished in double figures, led by Jalen Haralson’s 23 points on 9-13 shooting. Braeden Shrewsberry and Cole Certa each supplied 16 points, combining for a 9-18 night from three-point range. Lastly, Brady Koehler posted 11 points on 4-5 shooting, plus six rebounds.
HOW IT HAPPENED
SMU started 6-7 from the field, including 3-3 from beyond the arc, to jump out to a 16-7 lead. The Mustangs were later up 10 until a Shrewsberry three at 12:04 cut the deficit to 14-21 right before the media timeout.
Threes from Certa and Mohammed, coupled with an Imes layup, cut the deficit to two as the 8-0 Irish run made it 22-24 at 9:22.
SMU’s Boopie Miller had the hot hand early, starting 3-3 from three to register 12 points by the 7:29 mark, resulting in a 32-24 Mustangs lead.
A Shrewsberry triple out of the media timeout pulled the Irish within five. A Certa triple at 5:27 then made it a two-point game. Then Certa’s third triple of the half made it 33-34 with four minutes left.
Haralson got into double figures at the 1:57 mark, as his 10th point of the game tied it at 37-all. However, Boopie Miller ended the half with a 6-0 run, pushing the score to 43-37. Miller went 6-7 from the field in the first half, 3-3 from three, to total 18 points.
Notre Dame shot 14-28 (50.0%) in the first half compared to SMU’s 16-28 (57.1%). The Irish were 6-12 from three vs. the Mustangs’ 8-15. Both sides had seven turnovers.
Notre Dame started the second half aggressively, recording a 6-0 run to tie the game with paint scores from Koehler, Haralson and Towt. The Irish then took the lead at 45-43 at 15:54 in the second half, regaining the lead for the first time since 17:43 in the first half.
Soon after, a Shrewsberry three-pointer put the Irish ahead by three, but SMU countered with what would be a game-changing 19-2 run over the next four minutes to go up 64-50 at 10:44.
Shrewsberry’s fourth three-pointer of the night ended the Irish scoring drought. It was followed by five straight points from Haralson as the two traded blows with SMU. Then it was Certa’s fourth triple, which brought it back to an eight-point game, but SMU’s BJ Edwards halted the rally with a three of his own, 61-72 with seven minutes left.
The Irish kept fighting, pushing forward with an 11-6 run to bring it within six at 72-78. A 5-0 run from SMU quickly made it an 11-point game, but a Haralson finish and Shrewsberry triple would cut it to six yet again.
A Mustang 4-0 run followed, but was matched by an Irish 4-0 to counter with 16 seconds remaining. The Irish fouled, sending SMU to the free throw line, where they cashed in on one last pair of free throws to win it 89-81.
UP NEXT
The Irish return home for a Saturday Valentine’s Day matchup against Georgia Tech. Tip is slated for Noon ET on the CW. Tickets are still available on FightingIrish.com.
– ND –