ATLANTA – It was a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde game for the Notre Dame men’s basketball team against Georgia Tech on Tuesday afternoon. The first half was one the Fighting Irish (7-6, 1-1) will look to leave in 2024 – a season-low shooting percentage for a half (.281) and a 19-point halftime deficit to the Yellow Jackets (7-7, 1-2); however, the second half was one to build on. The Irish cut said deficit to a one-possession game with just under six minutes left, ultimately shooting 60.0 percent in the second half. Unfortunately, the comeback fell short and the Irish ran out of time, dropping a 75-86 decision.
Tae Davis tied his career high in points with 27, with 22 being scored in the second half. In the second, Davis shot 7-for-9 and went 8-for-9 from the free-throw line. He also earned seven total rebounds and three assists. That now marks three straight games with 20+ points.
Sophomore guard Braeden Shrewsberry supplied 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting from three. All 12 points came in the second half.
Matt Allocco rounded out the Irish in double figures with 15 points on 6-for-13 shooting. He tied his season high of seven assists and has now dished out 18 assists over the last three games.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Coach Shrewsberry called a timeout at 16:55 to regroup his Irish down 1-7 after an 0-for-5 shooting start. Matt Allocco registered Notre Dame’s first basket soon after with a three at 16:33.
At 13:37, a Tae Davis and-one started a short 3-for-3 shooting stretch, getting buckets from Nikita Konstantynovskyi and J.R. Konieczny. The Konieczny three-pointer gave the Irish its first lead of the game up 12-11 at 12:25. Then the game went sideways fast.
Georgia Tech recorded a 17-4 scoring spree, making eight consecutive field goals to go up 16-28 with 7:14 till half. It was still a 10-point game with 2:42 till half with the Irish trailing 22-32, but the Yellow Jackets recorded a two-minute surge and pushed ahead to a 43-24 halftime lead.
Notre Dame shot just 28.1 percent in the first half, while the Yellow Jackets shot a hot 60.7 percent, with 22 of their 43 halftime points being scored in the paint.
Notre Dame’s offense had a much better start in the second half. Tae Davis scored seven points in three minutes and the Irish started 4-for-7 from the field, prompting a Georgia Tech timeout now down 36-50 at 17:00.
From 14:40-12:32, the Irish fired off an 11-0 run – an Allocco jumper, a Davis and-one and back-to-back three-pointers from Shrewsberry.
That trio put the Irish on their back and kept chipping away at the deficit. At the 7:34 media timeout, the once 19-point deficit was just five points at 62-67. At that point, Davis had 15 second-half points, Shrewsberry had 12 and Allocco had nine.
Fast forward to six minutes remaining and a Njie dunk followed by an Allocco jumper in the paint made it a one-possession game at 66-69.
And right when it looked like the halftime deficit was going to be erased, Georgia Tech’s Lance Terry spearheaded a 10-2 run in which he supplied six of the points. Now the Irish were back down 11 with 2:42 remaining.
From that point, there was not enough time for another Irish flurry as they succumbed to a 75-86 defeat.
UP NEXT
A sold-out Purcell Pavilion and the visiting North Carolina Tar Heels await the Irish next. Notre Dame clashes with UNC on Saturday, Jan. 4, presented by Verizon. That contest will tip at Noon ET on CBS.
Saturday’s matchup will be the second of four Irish Wear Green games.
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