DJ Burns made a tiebreaking layup with 0.6 seconds remaining in the game, and visiting North Carolina State scored the final eight points to stun Notre Dame with a 54-52 victory in Atlantic Coast Conference play on Wednesday night in South Bend, Ind.
The 6-foot-9, 275-pound Burns had a team-high 13 points, and tied it 52-52 via a layup with 13 seconds left to play in regulation. Then after Notre Dame’s Julian Roper II missed the front end of a one-and-one free-throw situation, and out of a timeout, Burns went up and under for the eventual winner. It was NC State’s first lead of the game.
The Wolfpack (10-3, 2-0 ACC) overcame shooting a season-low 28.8 percent — including 8 of 35 in the second half — to win their third straight.
Freshman Markus Burton had 18 points for Notre Dame (6-8, 1-2), which led by as many as 12 in the first half but shot 7 of 23 in the second half and failed to score over the final 2:10 of the contest. The Fighting Irish also committed 13 turnovers and allowed NC State to pull down 17 offensive boards on the night.
With 7:45 remaining in the game and Notre Dame leading 46-35, the two teams combined for 21 points on 7-of-40 shooting in the second half. However, the Wolfpack used a 15-6 run to get within 52-50 with 1:13 to go. That’s when Burns took over to sink the Irish’s hopes of a third straight victory.
Notre Dame made five of its first six shot attempts on the night, and eventually built a 26-14 lead with a little less than 6 1/2 minutes remaining in the first half. However, the Wolfpack strung together eight consecutive points, including four from Jaden Taylor (12 points), to get within 26-22.
But 3-pointers from reserves Braeden Shrewsberry and Matt Zona down the stretch helped the Irish hold that eight-point halftime lead. Notre Dame’s 6-of-13 shooting helped offset seven first-half turnovers.
Meanwhile, NC State went just 2 of 11 from beyond the arc through the first 20 minutes.
–Field Level Media
