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Notre Dame Beats Miami, 67-62

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It followed a similar script, and when it was over, Notre Dame again came away with a hard-fought victory.

Notre Dame held Miami without a field goal over the final two minutes and 53 seconds, and escaped with a 67-62 victory in front of 7,792 people at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Fla.

The win makes the Irish 15-2 and 4-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the program’s first 4-0 start in league play.

Trailing 61-57 with 2:53 remaining, Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey took a timeout. The Irish would then go on a 6-0 run to take a 63-61 lead with 1:04 left.

After Miami cut the lead to 63-62 on a Ja’Quon Newton free throw, Notre Dame senior guard Steve Vasturia hit a layup with six seconds left and two seconds on the shot clock to push the lead to 65-62.

Senior wing V.J. Beachem stole the ball on Miami’s final possession and the Irish snapped a 21-game home winning streak for the Hurricanes (11-4, 1-2). Notre Dame also denied Miami head coach Jim Larranaga his 600th career victory.

Junior point guard Matt Farrell scored a team-high 15 points for Notre Dame. Beachem added 13, and Vasturia had 10 points and six assists.

Junior forward Bonzie Colson was just 2 of 12 from the floor and finished with eight points and 11 rebounds.

The Irish scored a season-low 28 first-half points and were tied with the long and athletic Hurricanes at the half. The Irish began the second period on an 18-3 run and Miami missed 10 shots in a row during a 9:03 stretch.

The 4.5-point underdog Irish lead grew to as large as 11 with 9:58 remaining, but Miami climbed back to take the lead, dominating the rebounding battle in the second half. Miami grabbed 28 rebounds in the second half, while Notre Dame had just 16.

The Hurricanes also had a season-high 12 blocks.

The Irish play at unranked Virginia Tech on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. on ESPN3.

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