Notre Dame 73, No. 13 Marquette 65: Pat Connaughton matched a season high with six 3-pointers for the second straight game and scored 18 points as the Irish shook off a cold start to defeat the Golden Eagles in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden.
Jerian Grant shot 4-for-15 but finished with 17 points and six assists while Garrick Sherman added 16 points for Notre Dame (25-8), which reached the semifinals at this event for the fourth straight season. The Irish will meet No. 4 Louisville in a semifinal game Friday.
Jamil Wilson tallied 16 points while Junior Cadougan poured in 14 to pace Marquette (23-8).
The Irish missed 15 of their first 17 shots and fell behind 17-4 midway through the first half, but connected on nine of their next 13 attempts during a 25-8 spurt to take a 29-25 lead into the break. Neither team could establish more than a four-point lead thereafter until Connaughton drained his fifth 3-pointer to give Notre Dame a 59-52 lead with 3:33 remaining, capping a 15-4 run.
Eric Atkins answered a basket by Wilson with a three-point play and Connaughton followed a 3-pointer from Wilson with one of his own to hold off Marquette’s last surge. Sherman and Atkins combined to hit six of the Irish’s eight free throws over the final 1:12.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Connaughton, who hit six of his 10 3-point attempts Thursday, is 12-for-18 beyond the arc in two Big East tournament games. … Marquette failed to win a game at this event for the first time since 2006. … Notre Dame committed seven turnovers – half as many as the Golden Eagles – recording its 10th single-digit turnover game.
Notre Dame | Marquette | |
Pat Connaughton 18 | Scoring | Jamil Wilson 16 |
Jerian Grant 6 | Assists | Juan Anderson 2 |
Jack Cooley 6 | Rebounds | Davante Gardner 6 |
Jerian Grant 8 | Free Throws Made | Davante Gardner 5 |
Jerian Grant 3 | Steals | Juan Anderson 1 |
Jerian Grant 2 | Blocks | N/A |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Notre Dame | 73 | 40.0 | 7-20 | 18-21 | 13 | 27 | 6 | 7 | 7 |
Marquette | 65 | 46.6 | 4-11 | 7-12 | 9 | 32 | 0 | 2 | 16 |