No. 1 Villanova Rallies To Beat No. 23 Notre Dame

Villanova senior guard Josh Hart scored a career-high 37 points and Notre Dame blew a double-digit first-half lead, falling to the No. 1 Wildcats 74-66 on Saturday the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

The loss is the first of the season for the Irish, who are off to the best start in head coach Mike Brey’s 17 seasons. Notre Dame now faces No. 19 Purdue next Saturday in the Crossroads Classic in Indianapolis.

No. 23 Notre Dame — a 5.5-point underdog according to Vegas Insider — was in control during an impressive first half, taking a 41-36 halftime advantage after leading by as many as 11 points. The Irish shot 51.5-percent in the first half, getting 12 points from junior point guard Matt Farrell and 10 from senior guard Steve Vasturia, both New Jersey natives.

But Hart had his way after the intermission. The national player of the year candidate scored 18 of his points in the second half, and was the only Villanova player to finish in double figures.

Hart was 10 of 14 from the field, including 3 of 4 on 3-pointers, and he made all 14 of his free throw attempts.

Villanova took its first lead with 9:07 remaining in the second half on a Jalen Brunson layup. The Wildcats were tenacious on the defensive end in the second half, holding the Irish to just 25 points after halftime.

Farrell and Vasturia finished with 18 points apiece. Junior forward Bonzie Colson — who entered the game with six straight double-doubles — had that streak snapped. He had 11 points and eight rebounds.

Senior wing V.J. Beachem tallied just four points on 2 of 11 shooting and struggled on both ends of the floor.

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