No. 23 Notre Dame Scratches Out 69-58 Win At Wake Forest
It was far from pretty, but the Irish got back to their winning ways.
Notre Dame (19-8, 10-5 ACC) shot just 43.6 percent (24 of 55) from the field and committed 12 turnovers, but clawed out a 69-58 win over Wake Forest (11-17, 2-14 ACC) at Joel Coliseum in Winston Salem, N.C., on Wednesday night.
The Irish have not lost back-to-back games since consecutive defeats to Maryland and North Carolina on Feb. 18 and Feb. 22, 2014, respectively.
Wake Forest opened the game by grabbing a 6-4 lead at the first media timeout, after the Irish committed three early turnovers and shot just 2 of 9 from the field in the opening minutes. On an encouraging note, though, senior forward Zach Auguste picked up five rebounds in the first six minutes of play. He had suffered a hyperextended knee injury late in the Feb. 20 loss at Georgia Tech, making his status questionable for the game Wednesday night.
Notre Dame responded to take a 10-8 lead at the 11:22 mark, although the ugly play continued from both squads — a rarity for an Irish contest. Both teams shot a combined 28.1 percent (9 of 32) from the field in the early going, and committed a combined seven turnovers.
Freshman forward Matt Ryan checked in for Notre Dame and drained two three-pointers to spearhead an Irish run, helping Mike Brey’s squad extended their lead to 22-12 at the 6:48 mark of the half. The Irish maintained that lead until Wake Forest ended the period on an 8-2 run, pulling the Deacons within just three points (28-25) at halftime.
The Irish finished the half shooting just 38.2 percent (13 of 34) from the field, including 2 of 12 from three-point range. They also committed an uncharacteristic six turnovers in the first period. Wake Forest was even worse at 31.4 percent (11 of 35) from the field, including 0 of 8 from long range.
On the first possession of the second half, Wake Forest tied it up by draining its first three-pointer of the game. The Irish, though, quickly responded to pull back ahead 36-30 at the 15:58 mark, and then extended that margin back to double-digits at 48-38 with 11:17 to play.
Wake Forest threatened a few times down the stretch — cutting the deficit to four or five points on a few occasions — but Notre Dame never relinquished full control, leading 57-50 at the 4:39 mark before the 69-58 final.
Junior point guard Demetrius Jackson finished with 15 points, all scored in the second half. Auguste led all scorers with 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting, and made all eight of his free throw attempts. The senior big man also grabbed 12 rebounds.
The Irish next stay on the road to finish off a three-game stretch away from Purcell Pavilion, ending this Saturday with a contest at Florida State. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET.
Box Score: LINK.
Game Notes:
• The Irish tied their all-time series against the Deacons at 3-3.
• Head coach Mike Brey is now 3-2 in his Notre Dame career against Wake Forest.