Notre Dame drops third straight after last-second implosion
Even if the Notre Dame men’s basketball team had found a way in the closing seconds to put lipstick on an ugly, troubling performance, this was a game that coaxed big-picture questions about where the program is headed.
With an implosion in the final 6.5 seconds Wednesday night in Tallahassee, Fla., it became a game that screams for them.
When Trey Wertz overthrew a pass to a breaking Cormac Ryan and the ball settled into the hands of Florida State’s Darin Green Jr. as the final seconds ticked off, a Seminole team that came in 3-10, that ranks toward the bottom of the Division I national stats in many key categories and excels in none of them, had held on for a 73-72 victory over the Irish.
Oh, and FSU, now 2-1 in the ACC, was down a starter (injured 7-foot-4 center Naheem McLeod).
“I feel for us, because we really gave ourselves a chance to win,” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. “And the read, I thought Trey's read on the cut by Cormac there at the end was great. He just threw a little long. And I don't want him losing sleep on it, even though I'm sure he will.”
There’s certainly plenty for Brey to toss and turn over.
The Irish (7-5, 0-2) lost their third straight and fourth of their last five games since smothering Michigan State, 70-52, on Nov. 30 — a team ranked 20th at the time but that’s no longer ranked at all.
Defense, or lack of enough of it, has been the common thread in Notre Dame’s December funk. After being thwarted somewhat by an Irish 2-3 zone early, Florida State heated up to finish .474 from the field, this from the nation’s 282nd-best shooting team that came in at .421 for the season.
Coupled with some hot early shooting — the Irish hit nine in a row at one point in the first half and 11 of their first 13 — Notre Dame was able to concoct a 14-0 run and build an early double-digit lead (27-16).
By halftime the Irish advantage was down to one point, 39-38. A 6-0 Florida State burst gave the Seminoles a 51-46 edge on back-to-back 3s by Michael Cleveland. The 6-7 sophomore guard led the Seminoles in scoring with 19 points.
Florida State never relinquished the lead thereafter, but the Irish got enough offensive firepower from freshman JJ Starling (game-high 20 points on 7-of-11 from the field with two 3s) to keep it interesting.
Until seemingly the 2:06 mark, when FSU stretched the lead to 73-66 as 6-10 freshman Cam Corhen scored over Nate Laszewski, who played most of the second half with four fouls. Corhen finished with a career-high 18 points.
But then a Starling jumper cut the lead to five. And after Laszewski stuffed Cleveland attempting a layup, Starling was fouled and made both free throws to make it 73-70 with 1:07 left. Another block by Laszewski, this one of a layup attempt by guard Caleb Mills, found its way into Starling’s hands.
He raced downcourt, converted a layup, and the Irish were down one with 37 seconds left.
Brey then elected to have his team defend rather than fouling, and that burst of Notre Dame defense was enough to force a shot-clock violation.
The Irish then took a timeout with 6.5 seconds left, then after seeing how Florida State lined up defensively, Brey called timeout again. Having to go the length of the floor against Seminoles full-court pressure, the ball was inbounded to Wertz, who then couldn’t connect with Ryan, running alone down the middle of the court.
The result was Notre Dame’s sixth loss at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center in six tries.
“We had a chance,” Brey said. “We just couldn't finish it. I thought we were actually a little better than we were in the two previous games (losses to Georgia and Marquette), so maybe we’ve got a little something to build on.”
If they do, it figures to be built around Starling, as well as perhaps a cure for whatever’s ailing Dane Goodwin, who averaged 14.3 points per game through ND’s first eight games this season and double digits in each of his three previous seasons.
For the fourth straight game, the 6-6 grad senior guard finished in single digits in scoring, each a smaller total than the game before. On Wednesday night it was a season-low two points in 37 minutes of play. He’s a collective 7-for-29 from the field (24%) in that four-game stretch.
Ryan joined Starling in double figures with 17, as did Laszewski (12) and Wertz (10).
“He just keeps getting better,” Brey said of Starling. “I know we've lost two (actually three), but I thought Georgia and here, he is playing really well and playing within himself.
“Just, I'm thoroughly impressed with him. He's got a great poise about him. And I know our guys are struggling, because we really got off to a good start against a good, athletic group.”
But the Irish ran out of answers.
Again.
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