Irish Offensive Barrage Buries Hurricanes, 87-71

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Irish used a dominant five-minute stretch to close the first half to completely take over in Sunday’s 87-71 win over Miami inside Purcell Pavilion. Notre Dame outscored the Hurricanes 20-4 in the stretch to put the game out of reach.

Notre Dame improved to 17-10 overall and 8-8 in ACC play after the win.

The Fighting Irish had four players score in double figures, led by Mooney, who had a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds. T.J. Gibbs tacked on 19 points, five assists and three steals and Hubb chipped in as well with a double-double with 15 points and 10 assists.

HOW IT HAPPENED

After jumping out to a 28-25 advantage, Notre Dame went on an 11-0 run with 4:57 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Nate Laszewski, to increase its lead to 39-25. The Fighting Irish then added five points to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 48-29 advantage. Notre Dame relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down 10 shots to account for 30 of its 48 points.

Following intermission, Notre Dame kept widening that lead, expanding it to 74-54 before going on a 6-0 run to grow the lead to 80-54 with 6:24 to go in the contest. The Hurricanes narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Fighting Irish still cruised the rest of the way for the 87-71 win.

 NOTRE DAME PLAYER OF THE GAME

Mooney was a beast underneath for the Irish, scoring 19 points on 9-of-16 shooting and pulling down a game-high 12 boards in the victory. Mooney now has 22 double-doubles on the season, the most in the country at the DI level.

NOTRE DAME STAT OF THE GAME

The Irish put on a three-point shooting clinic in Sunday’s, burying 14-of-31 shots from beyond the arc. Gibbs led the way from distance, knocking down 5-of-6 from three-point range. Six different players drained at least one three in the victory.

NOTES

• With the win the Irish level the all-time series against the Hurricanes at 12-12.
• The Irish finished with 87 points, marking the 11th time this season the team has scored 80 or more points.
• Mooney’s double-double is his 22nd of the season and 43rd of his career.
• Hubb recorded the second double-double of the season with 15 points and a game-high 10 assists. The 10 assists are one shy of his career high.
• Notre Dame recorded just six turnovers for the second straight game, matching their season low. The Irish have now given up less than 10 turnovers in 14 games this season.
• With 14 makes from three-point range the Irish have now recorded double-digit threes in 14 games this season.
• For the 18th time this season Durham recorded multiple blocks in a game, finishing with two in the game.

UP NEXT

The Fighting Irish hit the road for a matchup with Boston College at 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Feb. 26. The game will air on ACCN and will be available to stream through the WatchESPN app (subscription required).