National Basketball Association
Notre Dame 81, N.C. State 78
When: 6:30 PM ET, Sunday, January 25, 2015
Where: PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina
Officials:
# Tony Greene, # Jerry Heater, # Brian O'Connell
Attendance:
19500
By SportsDirect Inc.
No. 9 Notre Dame 81, North Carolina State 78 (OT): Jerian Grant scored 25 points as the visiting Fighting Irish battled back from an 18-point, first-half deficit to win the ACC matchup.
Notre Dame's Pat Connaughton played with foul trouble throughout the game before finally fouling out with 47 seconds left in overtime, finishing with 11 points and seven rebounds. V.J. Beachem and Demetrius Jackson also scored 11 points apiece while Zach Auguste added 10 for the Fighting Irish (19-2, 7-1 ACC), who have recorded the best 21-game start in program history and improved to 4-0 on the road in conference play.
Five players also scored in double figures for the Wolfpack, who were led by Trevor Lacey with 13 points. Caleb Martin and Kyle Washington added 12 points apiece, Ralston Turner finished with 11 and Cody Martin scored a season-high 10 for North Carolina State (13-8, 4-4).
Beachem got the first step on his defender and scored on a drive to break a 76-76 tie midway through overtime, and a goaltending violation on the next trip down the floor gave Notre Dame its biggest lead of the game at 80-76. After the Wolfpack cut the deficit back to two, Jackson grabbed a key offensive rebound with 12.4 seconds left and sank 1-of-2 free throws before Grant blocked Lacey’s 3-point try at the buzzer.
The Fighting Irish trailed by as many as 18 in the first half before taking their first lead when Auguste got ahead of the defense and made a fast-break layup off a nice bounce pass from Jackson with 13:24 remaining in regulation. Martin’s three-point play after Connaughton's fourth foul with 5:31 left pushed the lead to six, but Notre Dame fought back again and tied it at 71 on a tip-in by Beachem with 1.8 seconds to go, sending the game to overtime.
GAME NOTEBOOK: NC State F Abdul-Malik Abu scored seven points in the first eight minutes to surpass his season high (5.5) but then picked up his second foul with 8:14 left in the first half and finished with eight points. … NC State shot 62.1 from the floor in first half. … The Wolfpack have attempted a fewer amount of free throws than their opponents in the last nine games.
Top Game Performances
Notre Dame |
|
N.C. State |
Jerian Grant 25 |
Scoring |
Trevor Lacey 13 |
Jerian Grant 4 |
Assists |
Trevor Lacey 7 |
Zach Auguste 11 |
Rebounds |
Trevor Lacey 6 |
Jerian Grant 9 |
Free Throws Made |
Trevor Lacey 3 |
Jerian Grant 2 |
Steals |
Cody Martin 3 |
Demetrius Jackson 2 |
Blocks |
Beejay Anya 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Notre Dame
|
81 |
43.1 |
9-28 |
16-24 |
13 |
33 |
6 |
6 |
10 |
N.C. State
|
78 |
47.0 |
7-24 |
9-12 |
18 |
31 |
3 |
6 |
9 |