CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-9, 1-5) fell 69-91 on the road to the No. 22/24 North Carolina (15-4, 3-3) on Wednesday evening as the Tar Heels remain an undefeated 12-0 at home this season.
The Irish finished the night shooting 27-65 from the floor on 36 percent shooting, just above the 34.6 percent that Carolina is holding opponents to on their floor. The Tar Heels also shot just above their season average of 48 percent at home as they shot 31-61 from the floor on 50.8 percent shooting Wednesday night.
“Our dudes have got talent, but they’ve never been through the wars before. They’ve never been through the grit and grime. I’ve got to get us gritty and grimey to be able to come in here and sustain, and do what we need to do,” Glenn & Stacey Murphy Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry said. “ We’ve got to build calluses in practice, and that’s the only way that you’re gonna be ready to do it. You can show flashes in practice, but to do it every day, we’ve got to push them harder in what we do. It’s hard to do when you’re down people, but that’s what they need.”
Sophomore Sir Mohammed led the Irish with 14 points on 6-11 shooting. Mohammed has now posted three straight games in double figures for the first time in his career. The guard has amassed 41 points in that timespan.
Freshman standout Jalen Haralson finished with 13 points, shooting 6-16 from the floor while also grabbing six rebounds.
Freshman Ryder Frost finished with 10 points, marking his third game in double figures and first since scoring 10 in the win over Detroit Mercy (11/7).
Junior guard Braeden Shrewsberry dished out a career-best five assists, followed by Logan Imes with four assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
North Carolina started hot, draining its first three of four from beyond the arc, 4-5 overall from the field. Notre Dame, down seven early, got back-to-back three-pointers from Certa and Shrewsberry to make it 10-11 at the 15:00 minute mark.
Carolina fired off two more threes after the media timeout, resulting in a 7-0 run over the next 3.5 minutes.
A Sundra three-pointer coming out of a Notre Dame timeout ended the drought, as the Irish started 3-4 from deep. However, fast forward to 9:39 and Jonathan Powell hit a three, making it a 6-12 start for the Tar Heels from three.
Notre Dame struggled finishing in the paint and midrange, starting the game 2-16 from two-point range, falling into a nine-point hole.
Haralson tried to get the offense going by attacking the basket and finished off an impressive three-point play at 6:03. That was followed by a Ryder Frost defensive board, then an ensuing Frost three to make it a one-possession game.
Yet Carolina had an answer once again, staving off the Irish rally with a 9-2 run in less than 90 seconds to make it 25-35.
Threes from Frost and Sundra cut the deficit to seven at 31-38 with 1:33 left in the half, but UNC scored on their next possessions. Sir Mohammed registered the last bucket of the half to ultimately trail by 9 at the end of the first half in a 33-42 battle.
Notre Dame surged late to nearly match North Carolina from three at the half – 6-12 compared to their 7-17. The Irish, who got some good looks around the basket, went 6-22 (.273) from two-point range in the first half. A huge plus for ND – only one turnover in the half. A difference maker, Carolina 9-14 from the free-throw line vs. ND’s 3-6; in addition to, UNC leading second chance points 7-0.
At the midway point, Carolina’s Caleb Wilson was the only player on either side in double figures, boasting 14 points. Notre Dame spread the wealth with Certa (7 pts), Haralson (7), Sundra (6) and Frost (6) combining for 26 points.
The Tar Heels continued to flourish from three-point range coming out of the break, as two triples kicked off an 8-0 run, forcing a Coach Shrewsberry timeout down 33-50.
North Carolina went on to outscore Notre Dame 28-12 over the first nine minutes of the half, building a 45-70 advantage. In that span, the Tar Heels shot 10-14 from the field, including 5-9 from three, compared to ND’s 5-17 & 0-4 from three.
Trailing by as much as 29, the Irish continued to chip away at the deficit. Mohammed scored 10 of Notre Dame’s 22 points in the final nine minutes of the half, with the Irish ultimately falling by 22 at 69-91.
UP NEXT
The Irish are back at Purcell as they host Boston College in a game presented by Verizon. The Irish tip off at 6 PM on ACC Network this Saturday, Jan. 24.
– ND –