No. 4 Virginia fought off an upset effort from Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon, sinking six consecutive free throws late for a 60-54 win in Atlantic Coast Conference action in Charlottesville, Va.
The Fighting Irish cut a 10-point deficit with less than five minutes left to 54-52 with 30 seconds remaining on a layup by Nate Laszewski. Virginia then hit its six foul shots, including four from junior Kyle Guy on his way to a team-high 22 points.
Virginia's De'Andre Hunter recorded his second double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Both teams shot less than 37 percent from the field, combining to make only 16 of 53 3-point shots.
Despite shooting just 34.5 percent, Notre Dame (13-12, 3-9) stayed in the game behind T.J. Gibbs' 17 points. John Mooney tallied a double-double with 11 points and 15 rebounds. D.J. Harvey rounded out three Irish in double figures with 10 points.
Each team had a scoring drought of at least five minutes in the first half, with Notre Dame's scoreless streak spanning more than seven minutes.
Virginia (22-2, 10-2) used a 7-0 run to go up 27-19 with 1:38 left in the half before Notre Dame connected on back-to-back 3-point shots to cut the lead to two. The Cavaliers took a 29-25 lead into the locker room.
Guy led Virginia with 10 first-half points while Harvey and Gibbs put in 10 apiece for the Irish.
All eight of Virginia's turnovers came in the second half, while Notre Dame turned the ball over nine times for the game. The Cavaliers outrebounded the Irish 36-33.
Virginia will stay in the state when it plays at No. 22 Virginia Tech on Monday night. Notre Dame will host Wake Forest on Tuesday.
--Field Level Media
Notre Dame | Virginia | |
Temple Gibbs 17 | Scoring | Kyle Guy 22 |
Temple Gibbs 3 | Assists | Kyle Guy 3 |
John Mooney 15 | Rebounds | De'Andre Hunter 10 |
Nate Laszewski 4 | Free Throws Made | De'Andre Hunter 6 |
John Mooney 3 | Steals | De'Andre Hunter 2 |
D.J. Harvey 2 | Blocks | Mamadi Diakite 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Notre Dame | 54 | 34.5 | 8-30 | 8-8 | 8 | 31 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
Virginia | 60 | 36.5 | 8-23 | 14-17 | 12 | 35 | 4 | 5 | 8 |