Miami Has No Luck Against The Irish, Lose 75-70
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SOUTH BEND (CBSMiami/AP) -- Notre Dame's Jerian Grant channeled the luck of the Irish as he scored 23 points on Saturday, helping his team overcome a 12-point deficit in the second half to beat Miami 75-70.
After making just two of their first 16 3-point tries, the Irish hit seven of their next nine. Grant's 3 broke a tie with 6:19 left, and he made a layup and blocked a shot in the last minute.
Notre Dame (17-2, 5-1 ACC) equaled the program's best start through 19 games, matching the 1978-79 team.
Sheldon McClellan scored 17 points and freshman Ja'Quan Newton had a season-high 16 for Miami (12-5, 2-2). The Hurricanes led 43-31 with under 15 minutes remaining.
Irish forward Zach Auguste, who missed Wednesday's win at Georgia Tech because of an academic issue, scored four points in nine minutes. He didn't start, and began the day as the team's second-leading scorer at 14.3 points per game.
Coming off a 24-point performance in Miami's upset of No. 4 Duke on Tuesday, Angel Rodriguez shot just 1 of 10 and finished with four points.
Notre Dame went on a 9-0 run halfway through the second half to get the game close, and took its first lead on Steve Vasturia's one-handed floater in the lane with 9:31 to play.
That was after Miami opened the second half with a 13-2 run to take its largest lead, helped when the Irish missed their first six shots of the half.
Notre Dame them made four straight 3-pointers on consecutive trips down the floor. Beachem hit a pair and Pat Connaughton's triple with 12:44 to play cut Miami's lead to five.
Miami started off the game strong as well. James Palmer's 3-pointer gave the Hurricanes a 20-12 lead.
TIP-INS
Miami: Notre Dame was the third top 15 team the Hurricanes have faced in January, starting with a double-overtime loss to Virginia on Jan. 3, followed by a 16-point win at Duke four days ago.
Notre Dame: All-time leading rebounder Tom Hawkins was inducted into the Irish Ring of Honor at halftime. Hawkins (1956-59), who had 1,318 career boards, was in the hospital the day before due to dehydration, but was able to attend the ceremony and address the crowd. ... Freshman Bonzie Colson, who had a season-high 10 points in 22 minutes against Georgia Tech, earned his first career start in place of Auguste. Colson had four points.
UP NEXT
Miami hosts North Carolina State on Thursday.
Notre Dame travels to Virginia Tech on Thursday.
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