On Saturday night, the Notre Dame men’s basketball team faced off against the Virginia Cavaliers and took the 74-59 win. With the victory, the Irish improved to 9-10 overall and 3-5 in the ACC.
The Irish started the first half strong as sophomore guard Markus Burton made two free throws and a three-point shot, putting the Irish ahead 5-0. Even with a three-point shot from the Cavaliers, it was Burton again dropping in a three-point shot and a free throw, graduate guard Matt Allocco providing a layup and senior guard Julian Roper II adding a three-point shot to keep the Irish ahead 14-3. After an 8-0 run from the Cavaliers, Notre Dame was able to find the basket as Allocco hit a three-point shot before junior forward Tae Davis added on a layup and a free throw, bringing the score to 22-11.
The Cavaliers responded with a 7-0 run of their own, but Notre Dame was not fazed as junior forward Kebba Nije threw down a dunk, sophomore guard Braeden Shrewsberry put in a layup, Davis added a layup and Burton delivered a three-point shot, keeping the Irish ahead 34-20. Virginia managed three more points, but a quick response of two points from Shrewsberry brought the score to 36-23. Another layup from Virginia made the score 36-25, but Shrewsberry wasted no time draining a three-point shot to bring the score to 39-25. While Virginia scored the final two points of the half, the Irish stayed ahead 39-27.
Coming out of halftime, Shrewsberry scored the first three points, making the score 42-27, but a quick two points from the Cavaliers brought the score to 42-29. Allocco added on three more points for the Irish, but Virginia added three points to bring the score to 45-31. A three-point shot from Nije, a free throw from Davis and a layup from freshman guard Sir Mohammed made the score 51-31. However, after a shooting foul, Virginia added another point to make the score 51-32. Two more points from graduate forward Nikita Konstantynovskyi made the score 53-32, but Virginia responded to bring the score to 53-34.
A jump shot from Davis and a jump shot from Burton made the score 57-34, but a dunk from Virginia brought it back within 21. The Irish did not stop as Nije made two free throws, Davis added a jump shot and Burton dropped in a layup to make the score 63-36 before the Cavaliers managed a 10-0 run to make the score 63-46. Konstantynovskyi then drilled a jump shot, but a quick response of three points from Virginia brought the score to 65-49. With under five minutes to go, Shrewsberry drained a three-pointer, and the Irish moved into a 68-51 lead. After a shooting foul was called on Virginia, Davis put in a free throw, but the Cavaliers quickly added on three more points to reduce the deficit to 69-54. In the final seconds of the game, Davis put in a three-point shot followed by three points from Virginia, but Burton responded with a layup that brought the score to 74-57. While Virginia took the final two points of the game, the Irish finished with the 74-59 win.
Burton led the Irish on offense as he finished the night with a total of 21 points followed by Davis, who finished with 16. Nije led on the inside, finishing the night with seven rebounds for the Irish. The team now looks ahead to a late-night clash against Georgia Tech at home on Tuesday, Jan. 28 at 9 p.m.
