Field Level Media
Mar 3, 2018
Freshman De'Andre Hunter knocked down three late free throws to push No. 1 Virginia past Notre Dame 62-57 Saturday afternoon in the two teams' regular-season finale at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Va.
Virginia (28-2, 17-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) put three players in double figures, led by senior Devon Hall, who scored 17 points on senior day.
Notre Dame (18-13, 8-10) battled back in the second half and took a 44-41 lead with 12:31 to play but could not sustain it. Virginia retook the lead at 45-44 just a minute later and never trailed again.
The Irish failed to score for the final 2:26 of the game.
The Cavaliers held the Irish to 35.2 percent shooting on the day, including 29.2 percent from beyond the arc, where Notre Dame made seven of its 24 attempts. Bonzie Colson, who was playing in his second game back from injury, scored a game-high 24 points and pulled down 15 rebounds.
Only five Notre Dame players scored on the day, and Virginia's bench outscored the Irish bench, 19-0.
Virginia got 13 points from Ty Jerome and 10 points from Hunter, as the Cavaliers shot 42 percent on the day and turned the ball over just five times. Virginia leads the nation in fewest turnovers per game.
Virginia led by as many as 11 in the first half after starting the game 7-for-11 from the field. The Cavaliers went cold, however, and finished the first half 4-for-16 shooting to allow Notre Dame to climb back into the game.
The Fighting Irish got 18 first-half points from Colson to trim the Virginia lead to 32-27 at halftime.
The Cavaliers were led by Hall, who scored nine points, and Jerome, who put in eight. Virginia held Notre Dame to 38 percent shooting in the half, including 3-for-10 from the 3-point line.
Both teams will continue their season next week in Brooklyn at the ACC tournament.
--Field Level Media