Miami basketball rally falls short against Notre Dame
The Miami basketball team fell behind by 14 in the second half and lost 68-64 to Notre Dame at the Watsco Center on Wednesday night. Miami falls to 16-6 overall and 8-3 in the ACC. Notre Dame improves to 15-8, 8-3. With the loss, Miami falls out of first place in the ACC for the first time this season.
Duke is 18-3 overall and leads the ACC at 8-2. North Carolina is 16-6 and also 8-3 in the ACC. Notre Dame defeated North Carolina so they currently hold the tiebreaker for second place. A Notre Dame 22-6 run early in the second half to bury Miami. The four-point final margin was as close as Miami got after the Notre Dame run.
Isaiah Wong led Miami with 18 points and Charlie Moore and Anthony Walker scored 12. Paul Atkinson led Notre Dame with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Miami made only eight of their 25 three-point attempts but held Notre Dame for 6-26. The Hurricanes shot 43 percent and lacked their usual aggressiveness offensively.
Both teams struggled at times offensively. Notre Dame led 30-28 a halftime. The inability for Miami to get to the free-throw line was a big factor. Both teams made four of six from the line. Miami had one free throw attempt until late in the game. Kameron McGusty had an off night for Miami with seven points.
McGusty shot three of 12 from the floor and made only one of his six three-point attempts. Two Notre Dame offensive rebounds in the last 3:16 were also critical. The first came with Notre Dame up 63-55 by Atkinson. Cormac Ryan had the second offensive rebound with Notre Dame leading 66-60 with 1:07 remaining.
Miami one of best January teams nationally. dark. Next
The Miami basketball team has a tough follow-up after the loss to Notre Dame. The Hurricanes will travel to Virginia on Saturday with a 5 PM tipoff. Virginia is 13-9 overall, 7-5 in the ACC. Miami returns home next Wednesday to host Georgia Tech. The Hurricanes will go for the season sweep of the Yellow Jackets.