CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Notre Dame men’s basketball (10-17, 2-14) found itself down just three to No. 7/6 Virginia (21-4, 13-3) with three seconds on the clock with graduate guard Trey Wertz on the free-throw line. Wertz made the first and then shot a ‘perfect miss’ as the ball found its way back to him. Wertz calmly dished to Dane Goodwin who was wide open for the game-winning three, but the Luck of the Irish didn’t strike, as ND fell at the buzzer 57-55.
Goodwin, Nate Laszewski, Marcus Hammond and Cormac Ryan combined for 48 of the team’s 55 points. Laszewski led the team in scoring for the 10th time this season, pouring in 18 points – 11 of which came in the second half. The graduate forward also reeled in a team best eight rebounds.
Dane Goodwin secured his 13th game in double figures in the past 15 games, and his 19th overall on the year, with 12 points. Marcus Hammond supplied 10 points while Ryan added eight.
Notre Dame outshot Virginia 39.2 percent to their 36.5 percent.
How It Happened
Early on one would think this had the makings of a high scoring game as both sides traded three-pointers. Three of Notre Dame’s first four made field goals were threes while four of Virginia’s first five were three as well. At the 10:19 media timeout, ND trailed just 15-17.
The good news for the Irish was that the Cavaliers wouldn’t convert a three for the remainder of the first half. The bad news for the Irish, they recorded a 2-for-10 stretch from the field from that spanned nine minutes.
However, a late 3-for-4 flurry, which included buckets from Ryan, Laszewski and Hammond made it a close one at the half, down just 25-29. The Irish were 9-for-23 at the half, while the Cavaliers were just one field goal better at 10-for-26. Laszewski led at the break with seven points.
The Irish, who ended the half on a 10-5 scoring run, scored the first six points of the second half to take their first lead of the game at 31-29.
Laszewski and Goodwin combined for 11 of the team’s first 15 points of the half, keeping lockstep with Virginia at 40-all at 12:55. The Cavs then fired off a quick 5-0 run as Coach Brey was quick to call the timeout to stymie the momentum at 11:27.
Virginia’s Jayden Gardner later opened the lead up to eight but Laszewski had an immediate answer down on the other end to keep it close at 48-53 with 5:51 left. Next, Goodwin followed with his signature post move in the paint and it was a one-possession game yet again.
With one minute remaining, the Irish trailed 52-55 and needed a defensive stop. They got just that and down on the offensive end, Hammond converted both free throws to make it a one-point game with 24 seconds left.
Notre Dame immediately fouled to send Virginia’s Kihei Clark to the free-throw line. He made both. With around 12 seconds on the clock, Goodwin got up a three, but it hit off the front end of the rim.
Next, the Cavaliers then missed the front end of a 1-and-1, giving the Irish another opportunity. Wertz was fouled and sent to the line where he made his first one, making it 55-57. He missed the second one and the rebound was tipped out. The ball found Goodwin who then had another crack at it, this time for the win, but it rimmed out again.
Up Next
Notre Dame returns to the Bend for a Wednesday night showdown with North Carolina. Tip on Feb. 22 inside Purcell Pavilion is 9 p.m. on ESPN.
— ND –