Notre Dame 70, Virginia Tech 63: Pat Connaughton tallied 21 points and eight rebounds as the host Fighting Irish held off the Hokies to end a three-game skid.
Demetrius Jackson tied his career high with 13 points and Eric Atkins added 12 for Notre Dame (11-7, 2-3 ACC). Zach Auguste gave the Irish a lift off the bench, hitting all four of his field-goal attempts for eight points.
Devin Wilson had a career-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting and dished out seven assists for Virginia Tech (8-9, 1-4), which has lost four straight. Cadarian Raines added a career-best 19 points and C.J. Barksdale contributed 12.
The Fighting Irish held the Hokies scoreless for nearly four minutes during a 9-0 spurt early in the first half and didn't trail again. They then rattled off a 10-0 run over the final 2:26 of the half -- the last eight coming from Jackson -- to take a 39-24 advantage into the break.
Virginia Tech surged back in the second half, hitting seven of its first eight shots and pulling within 53-51 as Will Johnston and Wilson hit back-to-back 3-pointers during a seven-point burst. Connaughton and Steve Vasturia answered with back-to-back 3s, though, and Notre Dame's lead didn't dip below five the rest of the way.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Former Notre Dame coach Digger Phelps was inducted into the school's Ring of Honor in a ceremony at halftime. … Virginia Tech F Joey Van Zegeren had a career-high six blocked shots. … Connaughton was 4-of-9 from 3-point range while the rest of the team went 5-for-19.
Virginia Tech | Notre Dame | |
Cadarian Raines 20 | Scoring | Pat Connaughton 21 |
Devin Wilson 7 | Assists | Eric Atkins 4 |
Cadarian Raines 6 | Rebounds | Pat Connaughton 8 |
Devin Wilson 5 | Free Throws Made | Demetrius Jackson 5 |
Christian Beyer 1 | Steals | Eric Atkins 2 |
Joey van Zegeren 6 | Blocks | N/A |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Virginia Tech | 63 | 52.1 | 4-11 | 9-15 | 12 | 34 | 6 | 3 | 17 |
Notre Dame | 70 | 41.4 | 9-28 | 13-18 | 14 | 28 | 0 | 10 | 10 |