A double-double from Paul Atkinson Jr. and 16 points from Dane Goodwin helped Notre Dame beat Louisville 63-57 in South Bend, Ind., for its 13th win in its last 15 games.
Notre Dame (17-7, 10-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) now sits alone atop the conference standings, leapfrogging Duke with the win. Atkinson’s 17 points and 15 rebounds paced the Fighting Irish, and Blake Wesley also put up 11 points on 5 of 10 shooting.
Jae’Lyn Withers helped Louisville (11-13, 5-9) stay in the game with 20 points on 9 of 17 (52.9 percent) shooting. El Ellis and Dre Davis also reached double figures for the Cardinals, scoring 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Notre Dame led by as many as 14 points late in the first half, looking to replicate its 12-point win over the Cardinals in January. But Louisville slowly crept back into the game throughout the second half, finally taking a 55-54 lead with 6:14 remaining.
Facing its first deficit since the score was 7-6 in the early minutes, Notre Dame responded with its best run of the night. The Fighting Irish scored the next eight points, holding Louisville scoreless for more than five minutes down the stretch.
Louisville missed its next seven shots from the floor after taking the lead and eight of its last nine shots overall, allowing Notre Dame to build a 62-55 lead. The Fighting Irish held on for the win despite not making a field goal over the final 2:43 themselves.
Both teams struggled with their outside shooting. Notre Dame shot 5 of 20 (25 percent) from 3-point range, and Louisville was 5 of 30 (16.7 percent).
Notre Dame’s Prentiss Hubb led all players with five assists, and as a team Notre Dame had 13 assists on 25 field goals.
The Fighting Irish will travel to Clemson on Saturday, while Louisville’s next game will come at home against Miami on Feb. 16.
–Field Level Media
