Jerian Grant led the Fighting Irish with 22 points on Sunday afternoon.

Notre Dame Edged By Providence, 75-74

Nov. 23, 2014

Box Score |Notre Dame vs Providence Box Score

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) – LaDontae Henton scored a career-high 38 points and deflected a last-second shot by Notre Dame as Providence defeated the Irish 75-74 Sunday in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic at Mohegan Sun Arena.

In perhaps the best individual performance so far in this college basketball season, Henton made 14 of 19 shots from the field and hit the winning free throws with 14.8 seconds left.

Henton, a 6-6 senior forward from Lansing, Mich., scored nine of the last 11 points for Providence (5-0). The winning free throws came after Henton drove the lane and drew the foul against Jerian Grant, who led Notre Dame (4-1) with 22 points.

Grant had given the Irish a 74-73 lead on a three-point play with 29.7 seconds left when he scored and was fouled by Tyler Harris (17 points).

Notre Dame grabbed a 10-4 lead on a three-point play by Pat Connaughton (13 points) with 16:18 left in the first half. But the Friars chipped away at that deficit until Harris finally gave Providence a 22-21 lead midway throughout the opening half.

Henton, who had 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting at halftime, made 3-pointers to give the Friars a 31-29 lead with 4:36 left and a 37-35 lead with 2:49 before the break.

Kris Dunn, who had 15 points in a victory over Florida State Saturday, was plagued by foul trouble against the Irish. But Dunn scored just 9 seconds into the second half to give the Friars their largest lead at 41-35. At that point, the Friars were shooting 53.6 percent (15 of 28).

Henton’s layup with 16:40 left put the Friars on top 45-41. Steve Vasturia tied the game at 49 and then Notre Dame took a 52-49 lead on Connaughton’s 3-pointer with 11:45 remaining. The teams exchanged runs after that until Vasturia’s 3-pointer gave Notre Dame a 64-58 lead with 6:17 to play.

TIP-INS

Notre Dame: Through the first four games of the season, Jerian Grant was accounting for 40.4 percent (145 of 359 points) of the Irish offense. In Saturday’s win over UMass, Grant was a part of 44 of 81 points, scoring a season-high 24 points and handing out eight assists that resulted in 20 points.

Providence: The Friars beat Notre Dame 85-83 in the first ever meeting between the two schools on Feb. 14, 1956. But Notre Dame entered Sunday’s game with a 16-10 advantage in the series. The Irish had won 11 of the last 13 meetings between the former Big East Conference foes.

UP NEXT

Notre Dame: hosts Grambling State on Wednesday.

Providence: hosts Yale on Friday.