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Quick Hits: Notre Dame's 88-66 Loss To No. 4 Duke

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Duke (19-3, 6-3) used an 18-0 run in the second half to take down Notre Dame (13-9, 3-6) 88-66 Monday night in Durham.

It was the six-straight loss for the Irish while the Blue Devils bounced back after a home loss to Virginia two days before.

Here are Blue & Gold Illustrated's quick hitters, notes and stats from the Irish loss.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Duke’s freshman guard Gary Trent Jr. was a problem for Notre Dame throughout the game finishing with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Both totals were game-highs.

Trent Jr. shot 8-of-16 from the field and was deadly behind the arc hitting six of his 10 attempts. The freshman did most of his damage in the first half scoring 14 points, but hit multiple big shots in the second.

The Irish just didn’t have an answer to slow Trent Jr. down.

HIGHLIGHT OF THE GAME

Notre Dame had cut Duke’s lead to six (58-52) after a pair of free throws from sophomore guard TJ Gibbs with 12:21 left in the game.

But, freshman Duke guard Trevon Duval hit a huge three-pointer to extend the lead back to nine and quiet Notre Dame’s momentum. Duval’s three was the start of what ended up being a 25-4 run to blow past the Irish.

A miss by Duval likely wouldn’t have changed the outcome of the game, but it may have kept the game more interesting if the Irish were able to capitalize with a basket on the other end.

STILL FIGHTING

Even though it has been a tough stretch for Notre Dame, the Irish have not given up at any point during the losing streak.

With all the injuries Notre Dame has suffered through, it would be easy for the team to simply give up and feel down on themselves. But, this group has found a way to be competitive in almost every game during the losing streak outside of last night’s against Duke.

There’s a tough road still ahead for Notre Dame but one thing is for sure, Mike Brey’s group is going to empty the tank.

ANOTHER ONE (WHAT THE LOSS MEANS)

Notre Dame’s losing streak has now hit six games and the chances of making the NCAA Tournament continue to shrink with each loss.

The story would very likely look a lot different if Notre Dame was healthy throughout league play so far, but the Irish continue to fight and compete with the hand they’ve been dealt.

Can Notre Dame reverse the course enough to make a late run?

PLUS/MINUS

TJ Gibbs: -25

Rex Pflueger: -25

Martinas Geben: -23

John Mooney: -10

Elijah Burns: +4

Nik Djogo: -23

Austin Torres: -14

Matt Gregory: +3

Liam Nelligan: +3

OTHER STATS OF NOTE

Duke outrebounded Notre Dame 43-27 including 15-11 on the offensive glass.

The Blue Devils also held a 38-26 advantage with points in the paint.

Notre Dame had eight steals to Duke’s five.

Duke also had six blocks to Notre Dame’s one.

The Irish hit 15-of-18 free throw attempts.

Duke led for 39:32 of game action.

Notre Dame forced 12 turnovers to their own 10.

Gibbs scored at least 20 points for the seventh time this season.

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Talk about it inside Rockne’s Roundtable

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