Field Level Media
Feb 19, 2018
Guard Lonnie Walker IV scored 19 points and center Ebuka Izundu came up with a key follow as Miami halted its losing streak at three games with a 77-74 victory over Notre Dame on Monday night in South Bend, Ind.
The Hurricanes (19-8, 8-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) went on a 13-0 run late in the game to overcome a 62-57 deficit, and they held on from there.
Forward Martinas Geben scored 19 points to lead the Irish (16-12, 6-9 ACC).
Notre Dame was within 72-70 on guard Matt Farrell's 3-pointer with 1:09 left, but guard Anthony Lawrence converted a three-point play and Izundu's put-back gave Miami a 77-72 lead with 11.1 seconds remaining. Izundu finished with 14 points in his first start of the season.
The Irish trailed by nine points at the break but caught up to the Hurricanes at 52-52 on Farrell's long 3-pointer at the 10:56 mark. Guard Nikola Djogo's 3-pointer on their next possession gave the Irish their first lead since the 6:24 mark of the first half.
The Irish pulled out to a 62-57 margin before the Hurricanes regained their footing and scored 13 straight to take a 70-62 lead with 3:24 left in the game.
Notre Dame was without starting guard Rex Pflueger, who joined forward Bonzie Colson and guard D.J. Harvey on the injured list with a back issue. The Irish used only two bench players. Miami was without guard Bruce Brown for a seventh consecutive game.
The first half was a game of runs with Miami closing out the period on a 11-5 spurt capped by Walker's 3-pointer. The buzzer-beater put the Hurricanes up 38-29 at the break despite a nearly seven-minute stretch without a field goal.
Even with the shooting drought, the Hurricanes still shot 53.6 percent from the field the first half, hitting 15 of their 28 attempts. They were 5 of 9 from 3-point range but only 3 of 7 from the free-throw line.
Overall, Miami shot 53.4 percent to Notre Dame's 52.8 percent.
--Field Level Media