Laszewski helps lift Notre Dame over North Carolina 78-73
AP
Jan 05, 2022
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) Nate Laszewski scored a season-high 20 points, including consecutive 3-pointers to give the lead back to Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and the Fighting Irish held on for a 78-73 victory over North Carolina Tar Heels on Wednesday night.
The Tar Heels rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to take the lead on an Armando Bacot bucket before Laszewski hit back-to-back 3s, the second coming with two minutes left, to give Notre Dame (8-5, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) back the lead for good.
RJ Davis made two 3-pointers to keep UNC (10-3, 2-1) close but the Irish, who had only four free-throw attempts previously, made 6 of 7 from the line to secure Notre Dame's fourth straight win.
Laszewski made 6 of 7 from the arc and grabbed eight rebounds. Blake Wesley added 18 points, Dane Goodwin 17 and Cormac Ryan 11. Notre Dame shot 48%, made 13 of 31 3-point attempts and had just seven turnovers.
Bacot scored 21 points with a career-high 17 rebounds, Davis added 19 points and Caleb Love 15 for UNC, which shot 49%, going 8 of 22 from the arc.
Wesley scored seven of his 13 first-half points in a 12-2 run for a 10-point lead with nine minutes left. Bacot already had his 10th double-double of the season by halftime with 13 points and 11 rebounds. He scored seven points in a 16-10 run to end the half and cut Notre Dame's lead to 39-35.
UNC was without 6-foot-11 starter Dawson Garcia, a double-figure scorer and second-leading rebounder for the Tar Heels. He suffered a concussion early in Sunday's win over Boston College. Reserves Kerwin Walton and Justin McKoy were also out because of COVID protocols.
Notre Dame beat UNC for just the second time in the last 11 meetings.
This was Notre Dame's first game since Dec. 28 after a New Year's Day game with Duke was postponed because of COVID issues within the Blue Devils program.
UNC is host to Virginia on Saturday while the Fighting Irish are at Georgia Tech.
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1st Half
UNC
Tar Heels
35
ND
Fighting Irish
39
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
(Tar Heels gains possession)
19:40
Brady Manek misses three point jump shot
19:38
Dane Goodwin defensive rebound
19:26
Nate Laszewski misses three point jump shot
19:24
Rechon 'Leaky' Black defensive rebound
19:09
+2
Brady Manek makes two point jump shot
2-0
18:53
Nate Laszewski misses two point layup
18:51
Armando Bacot defensive rebound
18:39
+2
Caleb Love makes two point jump shot
4-0
18:21
Blake Wesley misses three point jump shot
18:19
Nate Laszewski offensive rebound
18:14
+2
Blake Wesley makes two point layup (Nate Laszewski assists)
4-2
18:00
Armando Bacot misses two point jump shot
17:58
Paul Atkinson defensive rebound
17:42
Blake Wesley misses three point jump shot
17:40
Armando Bacot defensive rebound
17:22
Rechon 'Leaky' Black misses two point jump shot
17:20
Fighting Irish defensive rebound
17:01
Paul Atkinson misses two point jump shot
16:59
Armando Bacot defensive rebound
16:51
Caleb Love misses three point jump shot
16:49
Paul Atkinson defensive rebound
16:44
Paul Atkinson misses three point jump shot
16:42
Tar Heels defensive rebound
16:32
Brady Manek misses three point jump shot
16:30
Paul Atkinson defensive rebound
16:23
+2
Blake Wesley makes two point layup
4-4
16:10
+2
Armando Bacot makes two point layup (Brady Manek assists)
6-4
15:48
TV timeout
15:46
+2
Dane Goodwin makes two point jump shot (Prentiss Hubb assists)
6-6
15:28
+2
Armando Bacot makes two point jump shot
8-6
15:06
+2
Blake Wesley makes two point jump shot
8-8
14:45
+2
Armando Bacot makes two point layup
10-8
14:45
Paul Atkinson shooting foul (Armando Bacot draws the foul)
14:45
+1
Armando Bacot makes regular free throw 1 of 1
11-8
14:23
+3
Cormac Ryan makes three point jump shot (Trey Wertz assists)
11-11
14:02
RJ Davis misses three point jump shot
14:00
Trey Wertz defensive rebound
13:49
Trey Wertz misses three point jump shot
13:47
Armando Bacot defensive rebound
13:40
+2
RJ Davis makes two point layup
13-11
13:25
+3
Nate Laszewski makes three point jump shot (Prentiss Hubb assists)
13-14
13:08
Caleb Love misses two point jump shot
13:06
Nate Laszewski defensive rebound
12:46
Nate Laszewski misses two point hook shot
12:44
Armando Bacot defensive rebound
12:36
+2
RJ Davis makes two point jump shot
15-14
12:19
+3
Nate Laszewski makes three point jump shot (Dane Goodwin assists)
15-17
11:47
Prentiss Hubb shooting foul (RJ Davis draws the foul)
11:47
TV timeout
11:47
+1
RJ Davis makes regular free throw 1 of 2
16-17
11:47
+1
RJ Davis makes regular free throw 2 of 2
17-17
11:33
+2
Blake Wesley makes two point jump shot
17-19
11:20
Armando Bacot offensive foul
11:20
Armando Bacot turnover
11:01
+3
Cormac Ryan makes three point jump shot
17-22
10:43
Paul Atkinson blocks Armando Bacot's two point layup
10:41
Paul Atkinson defensive rebound
10:32
Blake Wesley misses three point jump shot
10:30
Rechon 'Leaky' Black defensive rebound
10:28
Rechon 'Leaky' Black offensive foul (Cormac Ryan draws the foul)
10:28
Rechon 'Leaky' Black turnover
10:13
+3
Trey Wertz makes three point jump shot (Prentiss Hubb assists)
17-25
10:00
Brady Manek misses three point jump shot
9:58
Rechon 'Leaky' Black offensive rebound
9:49
+2
Rechon 'Leaky' Black makes two point layup
19-25
9:39
+2
Paul Atkinson makes two point hook shot
19-27
9:23
Anthony Harris turnover (bad pass) (Blake Wesley steals)
9:17
+2
Blake Wesley makes two point dunk
19-29
8:57
+3
RJ Davis makes three point jump shot (Rechon 'Leaky' Black assists)
22-29
8:33
Blake Wesley misses two point layup
8:31
Rechon 'Leaky' Black defensive rebound
8:24
RJ Davis misses three point jump shot
8:22
Trey Wertz defensive rebound
8:10
Anthony Harris personal foul (Paul Atkinson draws the foul)