The Notre Dame men’s basketball team took a 63–57 loss against Miami (FL) on the road this past Saturday. The team now falls to 10–11 on the season and 4–6 in ACC play, while Miami improves to 5–17 on the season and 1–10 in conference action.
Miami started off the first half strong, dropping the first four points of the game before graduate guard Matt Allocco put in a jump shot to make the score 4–2. Miami quickly responded with a jumper, but a quick two points from junior forward Kebba Njie and a three-point shot from sophomore guard Braeden Shrewsberry brought the Irish ahead 7–6. Miami was again rapid in answering, putting in two more points of its own before a layup from freshman guard Sir Mohammed and a three-point shot from sophomore guard Markus Burton moved the Irish ahead 12–8. Miami added on three points again, but a three-pointer from Njie and a layup-dunk sequence from junior forward Tae Davis pulled the Irish ahead 19–11.
Miami put in two more points for itself, but six points from Shrewsberry made the score 25–13. A 5–0 run from Miami was then no problem for the Irish offense, as sophomore guard Logan Imes contributed his first two points of the night, making the score 27–18. Miami added on two more points before committing a shooting foul, allowing graduate forward Nikita Konstantynovskyi to hit a free throw and bring the score to 28–20. Miami followed quickly with two more points, but Burton found the basket for two, making the score 30–22. Nearing the end of the half, Miami converted a three-point shot, but Mohammad returned the favor with three points, Burton added a free throw and Shrewsberry tacked on two points to keep the Irish ahead 36–25 at the end of the half.
After halftime, the Irish started strong as Burton put in two points for the Irish to make the score 38–25. Two points from Miami was met by Burton as he put in two more points of his own to make the score 40–27. Four additional points from Miami seemed no contest for the Notre Dame offense as Davis put in a three-point shot to keep the Irish ahead 43–31. The Hurricanes would add on two more points for themselves, but Davis took the ball back, putting in two points and bringing the score to 45–33. An 8–0 run from Miami then closed the score to 45–39 before Shrewsberry drained a three-point shot to extend the Irish lead back to 48–39. Another 7–0 run from Miami made it a two-point game, but Burton added on two points to make the score 51–46.
Two points from Miami were then quickly followed by a jump shot from Burton to make the score 53–48. However, another 9–0 run from Miami pulled the Hurricanes ahead 57–53 before a layup from Burton and a dunk from Davis tied up the score. Another scoring run from Miami ultimately ended the game, as the Hurricanes took the final 63–57 win over the Irish.
Burton led on the court for the Irish as he finished the night with a total of 17 points alongside Shrewsberry, who finished with 14 points. Allocco paced the Irish with eight rebounds, while finished just behind him with a total of seven. The Irish now continue on the road as they travel to Tallahassee to face off against Florida State on Tuesday, Feb. 4, starting at 7 p.m.
