SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Darion Atkins scored 14 points, and Malcolm Brogdon and Justin Anderson hit key baskets in the final four minutes as third-ranked Virginia outscored No. 13 Notre Dame down the stretch to pull out a 62-56 victory on Saturday.
The Fighting Irish tied the score at 53-53 when Jerian Grant scored in the paint. But Notre Dame then missed four shots before Demetrius Jackson hit a 3-pointer with one second left. The Fighting Irish also had a turnover and Grant missed the front end of a one-and-one.
Atkins hit a 3-pointer to give the Cavaliers (15-0, 4-0 ACC) the lead as they won their first game against the Fighting Irish in nine tries. The loss ended Notre Dame’s 11-game winning streak.
Pat Connaughton led the Fighting Irish with 21 and Demetrius Jackson and V.J. Beachem had 12 each.
After Anderson’s 3-pointer, Brogdon followed with a layup to extend the lead to five points. Anderson then made a pair of free throws with 21 seconds left and Brogdon added two more free throws with 9 seconds left. Brogdon finished with 13 and Anderson had 11.
The Fighting Irish, who had shot 50 percent or better in 14 of their first 16 games and entered leading the nation in field goal percentage at 54.8 percent, were held to 34 percent shooting by the Cavaliers, who rank second in the nation in scoring defense at 50.8 points.
Connaughton hit a 3-pointer with just under five minutes left to give the Fighting Irish a 51-50 lead. But the Cavaliers, who had been struggling from 3-point range, got back-to-back 3s from Brogdon and Anderson.
Jerian Grant was held to six points, but had six assists and was key to keeping the Irish offense moving.
The Cavaliers dominated early, making six of their first 10 shots while holding the Fighting Irish (15-2, 3-1) to 2-of-7 shooting to take a 14-6 lead. Notre Dame forward Zach Auguste was 0 for 4 during the stretch, including three blown dunks.
But after Marial Shayok drove for a layup to give the Cavaliers a 16-6 lead, Notre Dame guard Demetrius Jackson blocked a shot by Brogdon as the Fighting Irish clamped down defensively and held Virginia scoreless for more than seven minutes during a 13-0 run. The Fighting Irish also outrebounded the Cavaliers 11-5 during that stretch and took a 19-16 lead when V.J. Beachem slammed in a rebound off a missed layup by Jackson.
Beachem hit a 3-pointer with 35 seconds left before halftime and London Perrantes missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer as the Fighting Irish led 27-24 at the break. Virginia held Notre Dame to 33 percent shooting in the first half, but the Fighting Irish were 5 of 9 on 3-pointers.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.