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Notre Dame Men Lose 66-65 Heartbreaker At North Carolina

BOX SCORE

A season on the blink for Notre Dame men’s basketball (3-6 overall, 0-3 ACC) suffered another heartbreak with a 66-65 defeat at North Carolina (6-4, 1-2 ACC) on Saturday afternoon.

Nate Lasazewski's 25 points and nine rebounds weren't quite enough in the 66-65 loss at North Carolina.
Nate Lasazewski's 25 points and nine rebounds weren't quite enough in the 66-65 loss at North Carolina. (Gerry Broome/Associated Press)
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With both the Fighting Irish and Tar Heels entering the contest 0-2 in the ACC, this was a crucial contest to start digging out of the cellar. Guard Leaky Black’s running bank-shot with 9.1 seconds remaining provided the winning margin for the Tar Heels.

On Notre Dame’s final possession, fifth-year senior Juwan Durham had an open look for a mid-range jumper from the corner that missed, and time expired as a scramble for the rebound ensued.

Junior Nate Laszewski, coming off a career high 28 points in Wednesday’s home loss to Virginia, continued his torrid shooting throughout this season with 25 points, notably 7 of 11 beyond the arc. The rest of the team was only 4 of 19 from deep range for an overall 11 of 30 effort. Inside the arc, Notre Dame was 15 of 25 for 60 percent.

However, the stat of the game easily was North Carolina crushing the Irish on the boards, 48-27 — and 21-3 on the offensive end. That resulted in the Tar Heels having an 18-5 advantage in second-chance points.

Leading North Carolina’s onslaught inside was 6-11, 265-pound freshman forward Day’Ron Sharpe, whose 25 points marked the first time someone for head coach Roy Williams’ team reached 20 points in a game this season. He also grabbed nine rebounds, seven of them on offense, and his powerful frame often enabled him to seal defenders in the paint while establishing strong post position.

After a sloppy start in which both teams committed five turnovers in the opening five minutes, it became a back-and-forth affair with nine lead changes in the first half before Notre Dame held a 30-29 lead at the intermission.

The Irish built their largest lead in the second half at 57-50 — with 11 straight points by Laszewski — before a 9-0 run by North Carolina, spearheaded by Sharpe’s 18 second-half points, put it ahead 59-57.

A blocked shot by Durham and a coast-to-coast drive by junior guard Prentiss Hubb, who finished with 14 points and five assists, put the Irish ahead prior to Black’s drive. It was the fifth lead change in the final four minutes — but Carolina would get the sixth and final one.

Overall, the Irish led 27:35 in the game and the Tar Heels 8:29.

Notre Dame hosts Georgia Tech on Wednesday as it tries to get back on the winning track.

Quick Observations

• With Durham in foul trouble early and limited to 17 minutes, freshman Matt Zona acquitted himself well with six rebounds, a blocked shot and assist in 18 minutes. For a youngster, he’s fearless when it comes to exchanging physicality on the inside.

• Sophomore walk-on guard Elijah Morgan played five minutes in the first half and converted the only two free throws made by Notre Dame in the contest. With the Irish possibly wearing down in games late with the number of minutes played by the starters, head coach Mike Brey might try to steal a few minutes here and there from the bench.

Minus junior guard Trey Wertz, who might be sidelined nearly two weeks with an ankle injury, every hand and leg on deck is needed against an unforgiving slate.

• Notre Dame entered the contest ranked 5th nationally in free throw percentage with a .813 mark but was only 2 of 6. Durham was 0 of 3, missing both with 1:18 remaining when the Irish trailed 64-63.

Laszewski also missed his lone attempt and is a surprising .700 from the line this year (28 of 40). We say surprising because as brilliant a stroke he has had this year while leading the team in scoring — he is .658 from the field and .590 (23 of 39) from three-point range — someone with those kind of sharpshooting skills usually would be at least in the .800 range from the charity stripe.

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