SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Notre Dame men’s basketball team is hitting its stride down the final portion of the regular season as they produced a statement win in a 70-65 victory over Wake Forest. The future was on display on Tuesday night inside Purcell Pavilion as the Fighting Irish (11-17, 6-11) outscored the Demon Deacons (18-10, 10-7) 32-22 in the second half, limiting them to 8-of-30 shooting in the half.
If Markus Burton wasn’t on your ACC Rookie of the Year ballot, he certainly got your attention tonight after dropping a career high 31 points. Burton became the fourth Irish freshman to record a 30+ point performance, joining the likes of Adrian Dantley, Troy Murphy and Chris Thomas. Furthermore, Burton has now tallied 59 points over the last two games.
Burton’s stat line tonight: 31 points, three assists, four steals, three rebounds. The freshman shot 9-of-15 from the field, 2-of-6 from three and a career best 11-for-11 from the free-throw line.
Carey Booth notched his fifth game in double figures this season with 15 points, which included draining three from deep. Booth’s 15 points were the most since his 17-point performance against Virginia on Dec. 30.
Braeden Shrewsberry was in double figures for the 11th time over the last 14 games, dropping 11 points tonight. Shrewsberry hit two three-pointers, which means he has now hit 52 treys during ACC play. The 52 threes breaks the Notre Dame ACC record for most threes during an ACC season, topping Prentiss Hubb, Matt Farrell and V.J. Beachem.
Tae Davis also secured 11 points as well, his 10th game in double figures. His most pivotal basket came with 22 seconds left in the game which gave the Irish a four-point lead. Lastly, Matt Zona tied his career high in rebounds with six.
Wake Forest’s Hunter Sallis, who ranks fifth in the ACC in scoring with his 18.3 ppg, was limited to seven points on 2-for-11 shooting. It marked a season low for him and the first time he was held to single digit points since last year’s Elite Eight round vs. UConn.
The Irish not only prioritized their defensive play, but were sure to take care of the ball on the offensive end as they tied their season low of just six turnovers.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Markus Burton was feeling it in the first half when he poured in 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting, 2-of-4 from three and 5-of-5 from the free-throw line.
Both sides shot extremely well to start the game. Wake Forest hit six of their first eight to jump out to a 7-15 lead, in what was their largest lead of the half. Notre Dame battled back by recording a stretch in which they hit seven buckets in a row, surging to take a 28-27 lead. At that point in the game the Irish were 11-of-17 from the field compared to Wake’s 12-of-17.
Next, the Demon Deacons utilized an 8-0 run to gain some separation at 28-35, only to be ended by a Burton three-pointer. The Irish then cooled off, converting just 2-of-11 down the final stretch, which allowed Wake to match its largest lead of the half up eight at 35-43.
The Irish tacked on three free-throws before the break to cut it to 38-43. Notre Dame finished the half 13-of-28 from the field (.464) compared to Wake Forest’s 17-of-29 (.586). The Demon Deacons owned the rebounding advantage in the half 17-11. Matt Zona had five of those 11 rebounds for the Irish – already tying his season high.
Wake Forest got off to a 5-1 second half start, threatening to push their lead to double digits until Carey Booth came up big with an and-one. Burton then crossed over the 20-point plane with a pair of free throws, then made it four straight points (team 7-0 run) with a great drive to the basket to make it a one-possession game.
The positive – the Irish got into the bonus with 13:13 left in the game. The negative – Davis and Roper were on the bench with four fouls apiece around the same time. Regardless, the Irish fought on and it was Booth’s turn to shine. At 12:41, Booth’s third trey of the game gave the lead back to the home squad at 51-50.
The game settled into a defensive grind with both sides suffering long droughts as Notre Dame later found itself trailing 55-56 with five minutes left. That’s when Burton lifted the Irish yet again with another impressive drive and finish. That was followed by a great driving layup from Davis to push the Irish out front 59-56 at the final media timeout (3:34 left).
A Shrewsberry three-pointer with 1:28 on the clock brought the fans to their feet and kept Wake Forest momentarily at bay now up 64-60. Later, it was Davis stepping up. One-on-one with his back to the basket and he beat his man and delivered to make it 66-62 Irish.
Fast forward to 17.1 seconds left and it’s Wake Forest ball. The Demon Deacons missed the jump shot and the Irish secured the possession with another team rebound.
Wake Forest was put into a must foul situation to try to regain possession as they fouled Burton, where he knocked down two final free throws to go a perfect 11-11 from the line.
The Irish led 68-62, but a Demon Deacon trey closed the gap to three at 68-65 with three seconds remaining. Wake Forest would commit one final foul and Shrewsberry’s made pair of free throws would close out the 70-65 win for the Irish.
UP NEXT
The Irish will host one more game inside Purcell Pavilion on Saturday, March 2, and that means Senior Day. Be sure to arrive early and help us celebrate our three seniors Raheem Braiton, Tony Sanders and Matt Zona. The Irish will tip off against the Clemson Tigers at 7:45 p.m. ET on the CW.
— ND –