Notre Dame Men’s Basketball Suffers Heartbreaking Loss to North Carolina
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – It was a heartbreaking finish at Purcell Pavilion on Saturday afternoon as the Notre Dame men’s basketball team fought valiantly against North Carolina, only to fall in the final seconds, 73-74. The Fighting Irish (7-7, 1-2) overcame a 12-point deficit in the first half and even claimed a three-point lead with 20 seconds remaining. However, the Tar Heels (9-6, 2-1) pulled off a dramatic four-point play with 4.8 seconds left. Despite a contested drive to the basket by Markus Burton, the shot didn’t fall, sealing the Irish’s defeat.
Burton, making his return after being sidelined since November 26, led the Irish with 23 points. He scored 17 of those points in the second half, shooting 7-of-14 from the field and 9-of-10 from the free-throw line. Tae Davis and Braeden Shrewsberry also played crucial roles down the stretch. Davis finished with 17 points, 11 of which came in the second half, while Shrewsberry contributed 16 points and a team-high six rebounds, hitting four three-pointers.
How It Unfolded
A three-pointer from J.R. Konieczny at 12:47 tied the game at 12-all, but North Carolina quickly gained control, making 7-of-9 shots to jump ahead 14-26. The Irish responded with back-to-back three-pointers from Matt Allocco and Shrewsberry to close the gap to 20-26, and Burton followed with two consecutive baskets, narrowing the lead to 24-29.
Despite strong efforts from the Irish, North Carolina capitalized on Notre Dame’s nine first-half fouls, adding points from the free-throw line to take a 39-32 lead at halftime. The Tar Heels were led by freshman Ian Jackson, who scored 17 points in the first half on 6-of-10 shooting.
After the break, North Carolina extended its lead to 36-47, but Burton took over, scoring 10 points in a 12-0 Irish run that put them up 48-47 at 13:09. From there, the game became a back-and-forth battle, with 11 lead changes in the final 13 minutes. Burton, Davis, and Shrewsberry combined to score the next 20 points for Notre Dame. Burton was active at the free-throw line, Davis made tough shots inside, and Shrewsberry hit two critical three-pointers.
In addition to the trio’s offensive output, freshman Garrett Sundra provided solid defense in his 18 minutes, while Julian Roper II added three steals and contributed defensively.
The Final Moments
With 22 seconds left, UNC’s Elliott Cadeau converted a layup to cut the Irish lead to one. Allocco responded with two free throws to extend the Notre Dame lead to three. But on the next play, Cadeau drained a three-pointer and was fouled in the process, hitting the free throw to give the Tar Heels a one-point lead. Burton had a final chance to win the game for the Irish but his contested shot in the paint came up short as time expired, and Notre Dame fell 73-74.
Up Next
The Irish now face a challenging stretch of games on the road, with six of their next eight games away from home. Next week, they will stay in North Carolina for a pair of matchups, starting with NC State on Wednesday, Jan. 8, followed by a game against Duke on Saturday, Jan. 11.
