Jackson Leads Notre Dame To Upset Of No. 13 Louisville, 71-66
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Demetrius Jackson matched his career high with 27 points, Steve Vasturia added 20 and Notre Dame rallied from 11 points down in the second half to beat No. 13 Louisville, 71-66, on Saturday.
The Irish (18-7, 9-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) used three 7-0 spurts in the second half to get the win, the final one coming after Ray Spalding's layup with 6:36 remaining gave Louisville a 63-62 lead. The Irish regained the lead with a 3-pointer by V.J. Beachem, a layup by Zach Auguste and two free throws by Jackson.
Damion Lee, who led the Cardinals (19-6, 8-4) with 13 points, hit a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left to cut the lead to 69-66. But Lee missed another 3-point try with 5 seconds left and Auguste clinched the win with two free throws a second later.
Jackson, who had a career-high six 3-pointers, scored 20 points in the first half to keep the Irish in the game, then Vasturia scored 15 in the second half to lead the rally, scoring nine of Notre Dame's 11 points during one stretch. The Irish held the Cardinals to 29 percent shooting in the second half.
Auguste added 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Irish, who outrebounded Louisville 41-29 and had a 30-20 advantage in scoring in the paint.
Quentin Snider added 12 points for Louisville and Trey Lewis had 11.
The Cardinals jumped to a 10-point lead early in the second half and stretched it to 51-40 on a 3-pointer by Lee. But that's when Vasturia scored four straight baskets, the last a 3-pointer, as the Irish closed to 54-47.
Beachem and Jackson scored on layups to cut the lead to 54-51. The Irish finally got their first lead of the second half on a dunk by Auguste that made it 62-61.
The Irish kept the score close for most of the first half until the Cardinals finished with a 5-0 burst to open a 43-36 lead. Louisville quickly stretched it to 10 points seconds into the second half on a 3-pointer by Snider.
COURTSIDE
David Rivers, a standout for the Irish from 1984-88, was at the game and spent time before the game chatting with his former coach, Digger Phelps, a courtside regular. Pat Connaughton, who helped lead the Irish to a 32-6 finish last season, joined Phelps and Rivers briefly. With the NBA on break for the All-Star Game, Connaughton, now a member of the Portland Trail Blazers, and former teammate Jerian Grant, now with the New York Knicks, were back to see their first game this season.
TIP-INS
Louisville: Louisville lost consecutive games for the first time this season. ... Chinanu Onuaku had four blocked shots. ... Louisville lost consecutive games to Notre Dame for the first time since losing in 1973 and 1987.
Notre Dame: A moment of silence was held before the game for 1953 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Lattner and Notre Dame graduate Ingrid Williams, wife of former Irish standout Monty Williams, now an assistant coach with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The 44-year-old mother of five was killed in a car accident in Oklahoma City on Wednesday. ... The Irish improved to 3-3 against ranked opponents this season. ... Notre Dame has sold out four consecutive games, the only sellouts of the season.
UP NEXT
Louisville hosts Syracuse on Wednesday.
Notre Dame is at Georgia Tech on Feb. 20.
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