Irish Unable To Complete Comeback In 80-75 Loss To Virginia Tech
Notre Dame (13-8, 3-5) trailed by as many as 15 points in the second half before a rally came up just short in an 80-75 loss to Virginia Tech (15-6, 4-4).
The Irish were behind 15 points (62-47) with 11:27 remaining and managed to cut the deficit to 65-62 with 6:53 left. But in the end, sophomore guard TJ Gibbs' 19 second half points weren't enough to stop Notre Dame's losing streak from extending to five games.
Here is the half-by-half recap of the Irish loss.
FIRST HALF
Sophomore forward John Mooney got the scoring going for the Irish connecting on a pair of free throws after getting foul on a three-point attempt.
Guard Ahmed Hill for Virginia Tech answered on the other end with a three-pointer to give the Hokies an early advantage. The two teams traded baskets up until the first media timeout with the Irish getting a three-pointer from Gibbs, tip in via Mooney and another basket from Gibbs.
The Hokies countered with three-point baskets from guards Justin Gibbs and Nickeil Alexander-Walker along with a basket from Gibbs. Virginia Tech held an 11-9 lead at the under-16 media timeout (15:19).
Out of the break, Virginia Tech grabbed a quick five points to go on an 8-0 to force a quick Irish timeout with Notre Dame down 16-9. Hill connected on another three-pointer to push the lead to double-digits (19-9) with 13:42 left in the half.
Notre Dame was able to get some offense going with three-pointers from sophomore guard Nik Djogo and junior guard Rex Pflueger. A layup by Virginia Tech guard Justin Robinson was sandwiched between the Irish three-pointers. The Hokies led 21-15 with 11:21 left in the half.
Virginia Tech continued to extend its lead taking a 26-18 advantage at the under-8 media timeout. After a basket by guard Devin Wilson, Virginia Tech again had a double-digit lead at 28-18 with 7:31 left.
The Irish were able to cut into the lead over the next few minutes going on a 5-0 run fueled by a three-pointer from Mooney and a pair of free throws from junior big man Elijah Burns. A dunk by Hokies guard Tyrie Jackson gave Virginia Tech the 30-23 lead at the under-4 media timeout (3:36).
Notre Dame cut the lead to 30-24 after a free throw from senior big man Austin Torres before the Hokies went on a 4-0 run to regain a double-digit lead (34-24) with 1:35 left.
Virginia Tech had a chance for the final shot of the half, but did not take advantage. The Hokies missed their final attempt and Gibbs took advantage drilling a half-court shot to give the Irish some momentum heading into the final 20 minutes of action. The bucket by Gibbs made the Virginia Tech lead 34-27.
Gibbs led all Irish scorers with eight points while Mooney put up seven points and eight rebounds. Pflueger notched six points. Notre Dame shot 8-of-30 (26.7 percent) from the field in the opening 20 minutes including 6-of-17 (35.3 percent) behind the arc.
Virginia Tech countered with a 13-of-29 (44.8 percent) performance including 7-of-15 (46.7 percent) on its three-point attempts. The Irish had seven turnovers to Virginia Tech’s three.
SECOND HALF
Virginia Tech was a two-headed monster in the five-and-a-half minutes of the half getting seven points each from forward Kerry Blackshear and Bibbs. Notre Dame got five points from Pflueger, four from Gibbs and a basket each from Torres and Geben.
Both teams started the half off strong offensively with the Hokies going 6-of-8 during the stretch and the Irish 5-of-8 while Virginia Tech led 50-40.
The Hokies slowly continued to extend their lead while going 8-of-10 from the floor including 4-of-4 from deep in the opening 7:35 of the half. Virginia Tech held a 56-44 advantage with 12:25 left. Pflueger went to the locker room during the stretch with what appeared to be a knee injury, but returned to the court a few minutes later.
Virginia Tech’s lead hit 15 (62-47) after back-to-back three-pointers from Bibbs which put him at 20 total points with 11:27 left in the half. Notre Dame, however, answered with an 11-2 run over the next few minutes — fueled by six points from Mooney and a Gibbs three-pointer — to close the gap to 65-58 with 7:30 remaining.
Notre Dame’s defense started to show during the stretch holding the Hokies scoreless over three minutes to help close the gap. Gibbs connected on four free throws over the next minute to put the Irish down just one possession at 65-62 with 6:53 left.
The Hokies lead stayed one possession through the next media timeout leading 72-70 with 2:50 remaining. Gibbs hit a three-pointer during the stretch for his 27th-point which set a new career-mark.
Notre Dame was down 74-72 with under 1:30 to go with a chance to take the lead and found Djogo open for a three. The sophomore couldn’t connect and Virginia Tech took a timeout with 36.4 seconds left with a chance to ice the game.
The Irish forced a miss, but Virginia Tech forward Chris Clarke followed with a tip in to put the Irish down 76-72 with 23 seconds left. Notre Dame couldn’t connect on their next possession thus allowing the Hokies to ice the game.
Virginia Tech ultimately pulled out an 80-75 victory to extend Notre Dame’s losing streak to five games.
Gibbs led all scorers with his career-high 27 points while the Irish also got 15 points each from Pflueger and Mooney, who also grabbed 11 rebounds for his first-career double-double. The 15 points were also a career-high. Geben added 10 points and nine rebounds to the team’s effort.
Overall, Notre Dame shot 24-of-61 (39.3 percent) from the field thanks to a 16-of-31 (51.6 percent) effort in the second half. The Irish hit 12-of-29 (41.4 percent) behind the arc.
Bibbs led all Virginia Tech scorers with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Robinson and Clarke had 11 each while Alexander-Walker contributed 11 points and five rebounds. Clarke led the team with 14 rebounds.
Virginia Tech shot 29-of-57 (50.9 percent) for the game including 14-of-25 (56 percent) from three-point territory. The team hit 7-of-10 behind the arc in the second half.
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