Irish Fall 79-70 At No. 17 Miami

Life can be tough on the road in college basketball — especially in the ACC.

After falling 81-66 in a recent blowout at Syracuse Jan. 28, the Irish (15-7 overall, 6-4 ACC) struggled mightily in their second straight road contest, falling 79-70 at Miami (17-4 overall, 6-3 ACC) on Wednesday night.

Miami jumped out to a 10-5 lead at the first media timeout after sinking five of its first six field goal attempts, including picking up six points in the paint. The Hurricanes, though, couldn’t extend their lead, with the Irish pulling back within one at 18-17 midway through the first half.

Neither team could create much separation in the early going. Sophomore forward Bonzie Colson kept the Irish within reach for a good span over several possessions, scoring 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the game’s first 13 minutes.

But with two minutes remaining in the first half, the Hurricanes jumped ahead double-digits at 39-29 via a 7-0 run over just 1:14. They went on to lead 45-33 at halftime after converting 81.3 percent (13 of 16) of two-point field goal attempts in the initial period.

Senior forward Zach Auguste barely played in the first half after picking up an early second foul. He missed both of his field goal attempts and committed two turnovers in the first 20 minutes.

The second half began as a continuation of the first, with Miami maintaining its lead at 56-43 at the 13:56 mark. And the Hurricanes continued to extend that margin, pulling ahead 65-47 with 7:33 to play.

A three from junior forward V.J. Beachem pulled the Irish back within 15 with just less than seven minutes to play, but the Hurricanes answered with a layup out of a timeout to pull back ahead 17 with 6:14 left in the game.

Clearly frustrated some throughout the evening, Irish head coach Mike Brey substituted in reserves in sophomore guard Matt Farrell and junior forward Austin Torres with 4:38 still to play, essentially waving a white flag. The Hurricanes would go on to win 79-70.

Notre Dame returns home on Saturday to host No. 2 North Carolina. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised live on ESPN.

ESPN’s College GameDay will also broadcast from Purcell Pavilion that morning. For more details on the GameDay plans, click HERE.

Box Score: LINK.

Game Notes:

• The Irish fell to 10-9 all time against the Hurricanes.

• Head coach Mike Brey dropped to 4-2 against Miami in his career in South Bend.