Nate Laszewski scored 16 points and Paul Atkinson Jr. added 14 points and nine rebounds as Notre Dame won for the 10th time in its last 11 games with a 69-65 victory over Virginia on Saturday night in South Bend, Ind.
Dane Goodwin scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half and Blake Wesley contributed 14 points and seven assists as Notre Dame (14-6, 7-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) snapped a six-game losing streak against Virginia and improved to 9-0 at home.
Virginia (12-9, 6-5) was led by Jayden Gardner, who had 22 points and 10 rebounds. Gardner had much to do with the Cavaliers’ 14-0 edge in second-chance points.
Kihei Clark scored all 12 of his points in the final 8:18 to lead a Virginia rally from 15 points down in the second half. Clark hit a 3-pointer with 8 seconds left to pull Virginia to within two points. But Prentiss Hubb wrapped it up with a pair of free throws with 4 seconds left.
It was the fourth straight Saturday that the Cavaliers lost to a team that broke a hex against them. Three Saturdays ago, North Carolina snapped a seven-game skid against Virginia. Then Wake Forest ended a nine-game losing streak against the Cavs. Last Saturday, North Carolina State beat Bennett for the first time in eight tries in Raleigh.
Over the first eight minutes, Wesley hit two 3-pointers and scored 10 of the points as Notre Dame grabbed a 19-12 lead. But Virginia answered with the next seven points as Beekman hit a 3-pointer.
Over the final nine minutes of the half, Gardner was the only Virginia player who scored. Notre Dame took advantage as Atkinson poured in 10 points over the final eight minutes to help stake the Irish to a 34-27 lead at the break.
In the second half, back-to-back 3-pointers by Goodwin gave Notre Dame its biggest lead, 52-37, before Virginia surged. Back-to-back dunks by Reece Beekman and Francisco Caffaro got Virginia to within 57-53 with 3:07 left.
Atkinson answered with a layup and Goodwin added a 3-pointer with 1:07 left that gave Notre Dame a 62-53 lead.
-Field Level Media
