Notre Dame Ends Miami Hurricanes 21 Game Home Court Winning Streak
Notre Dame used a 10-1 run in the final 2:46 to turn a four point deficit into a 61-57 win. The Fighting Irish’s late run came after Miami had their own 13-2 comeback earlier in the second half.
Notre Dame won the game by taking care of the ball and hitting their free throws. They were 12-14 from the free throw line and had six turnovers to Miami’s 13. The Irish committed just one turnover after halftime to the Hurricanes eight. The ‘Canes shot just eight of 14 from the line.
Miami also missed four layups in the game, three of which were in the second half. Two critical turnovers came down the stretch. With the game tied at 61, Davon Reed lost the ball as it slipped out of his hand as he was standing still on the wing in front of the Miami bench.
Notre Dame responded on the other end on a V.J. Beachem lay-up to take 63-61 lead. After Ja’Quan Newton split a pair of free throws, the Irish extended the lead to three on a Steve Vasturia layup.
Miami never truly got a chance to tie. Beachem stole the ball from Miami Guard Bruce Brown. Matt Farrell added a pair of free throws for for the final margin.
Miami did the other things that seemed necessary to win. They dominated Notre Dame on the boards and did a great job defensively, especially from the three=point line. Miami out rebounded Notre Dame 47-38 and held them to 37.3 percent shooting from the floor and 5-20 on threes.
The Irish came into the game shooting 46.8 percent from the floor and 39.5 percent on threes. Miami also blocked 12 shots.
The Hurricanes continued to get minimal scoring from the frontcourt. Miami’s starting backcourt of Newton, Reed and Bruce Brown combined 42 of Miami’s 62. Guard D.J. Vasiljevic came off the bench to add three of his own.
Kamari Murphy had seven points and 12 rebounds. Dewan Huell continued struggle. The Freshman finished with two points and no rebounds in just ten minutes.
The Irish were led by Farrell with 15. Three players for Notre Dame finished in double figures and another two had eight points. Miami did a good job defensively on Notre Dame forward Bonzie Colson. Colson is the Irish’s leading scorer and rebounder. He finished with eight points and 11 rebounds, but shot just 2-12 from the floor.
"Asked about the turnovers late in the game Reed said: “We just didn’t take care of the ball late in the game…We didn’t have poise down the stretch.”"
Jim Larranaga added:
"“And the game came down too little things. We turned the ball over at critical times. I don’t understand, we are a good free-throw shooting team but we went 8-of-14 from the foul line and they went 12-of-14.”"
Notre Dame also added some zone into to stop the Miami penetration. Miami wasn’t much better on threes than Notre Dame was hitting just 6-18. The Hurricanes best three-point shooters Reed and Vasiljevic combined to go 3-12 to match Notre Dame 25 percent clip from three.
Next: Miami Hurricanes Bring in 11 Early Enrollees
Next up for Miami is a trip to Pittsburgh Saturday. The Panthers are coming off of a 85-80 loss at Louisville and have lost three of their last four. Jamel Artis scored 43 in the loss and Michael Young contributed 17. The Panthers are 12-5 overall and 1-3 in the ACC. Pittsburgh and Miami will tip at Noon EST.