National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Notre Dame 79, Michigan St 78
When: 7:15 PM ET, Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Where: Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center, South Bend, Indiana
Officials: # James Breeding, # Bryan Kersey, # Brian O'Connell
Attendance: 9149

Notre Dame 79, No. 18 Michigan State 78 (OT): Jerian Grant scored 18 of his career-high 27 points after halftime as the Fighting Irish erased a seven-point deficit to knock off the visiting Spartans in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Demetrius Jackson also had a career best with 22 points, including a three-point play in overtime, as Notre Dame (7-1) won its third straight and improved to 6-0 at home in the first meeting between the schools since the 1979 NCAA Tournament. Pat Connaughton added 12 points and eight rebounds and Steve Vasturia also scored 12 as the Fighting Irish won despite being held under 50 percent shooting for the first time this season.

Denzel Valentine scored 22 points and Bryn Forbes added 18 on 7-of-7 shooting for Michigan State (5-3), which lost its second straight. Branden Dawson had 16 points and a career-high 18 boards for the Spartans.

Michigan State hit eight straight shots in the second half to build a seven-point cushion and led 59-53 on a three-point play by Gavin Schilling with 8:08 to play, but Grant scored seven points in an 11-2 surge as Notre Dame forged ahead 64-61 with 4:06 remaining. Valentine sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers around one by Grant for a 67-67 tie with 47.6 seconds left but neither team got off a shot on their final possession.

Austin Torres' put-back put the Fighting Irish ahead to stay in OT and Jackson drove the lane and completed the three-point play to make it 74-69 with 2:41 left, and the Spartans never got closer than three points until Valentine's 3-pointer at the buzzer. Notre Dame used a 10-0 burst for a 33-28 edge with 4 1/2 minutes to play in the first half, but Forbes was 5-for-5 from the floor and knocked down three 3-pointers en route to 13 points at the break to draw the Spartans within 37-35.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Notre Dame committed only three turnovers of its four turnovers in regulation - none in the second half - but were outrebounded 43-26. ... Forbes, playing with a broken bone in his left hand, buried his fourth 3-pointer with just over 16 1/2 minutes to play to eclipse his previous season high of 15 points versus Rider on Nov. 27. ... Connaughton pulled down five rebounds in the first half to reach 600 for his career.
Top Game Performances
 
Michigan St   Notre Dame
Denzel Valentine 22 Scoring Jerian Grant 27
Travis Trice 5 Assists Jerian Grant 6
Branden Dawson 18 Rebounds Pat Connaughton 8
Denzel Valentine 4 Free Throws Made Jerian Grant 7
Bryn Forbes 1 Steals Jerian Grant 3
Matt Costello 1 Blocks Pat Connaughton 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Michigan St 78 49.2 9-17 5-9 16 38 5 2 12
Notre Dame 79 46.4 7-23 20-25 7 22 3 7 4