By Dalton Ray–
In their fourth straight game against a ranked opponent, No. 9 Louisville fell to No. 23 Notre Dame, 77-70. Donovan Mitchell scored 20 points and added five steals with four rebounds. ND’s Steve Vasturia and Matt Farrell scored 24 and 22 points, leading the Fighting Irish to the win.
A tight game, Louisville’s offense didn’t come through. Back-to-back turnovers in the final minutes led to U of L’s demise.
Quentin Snider had 18 points with no turnovers. Deng Adel was the only other Cardinal in double-digits with 10 points.
The first half was filled with back-and-forth basketball. Both teams ripped off their separate runs and kept the game entertaining.
Despite the up-and-down play, ND held the lead during the opening 20 minutes. The Cards stayed in the game through the play of Mitchell and Anas Mahmoud, who made the Irish pay defensively.
Mitchell ended the first half with three steals and Mahmoud capped it with four blocks. Mitchell was the lone light in a dim U of L offense, with 16 of 37 first-half points.
Other than the eight points scored by Snider, the rest of the Cardinals shot 6-for-14. The Cards entered the half trailing 42-37 and were out-rebounded 20-15.
Vasturia and Farrell, 12 and 13 points, led Notre Dame to the halftime lead. Bonzie Colson played and scrappy and energetic first half, finishing with 11 points and six rebounds.
ND opened the half with a 9-5 run to give them a 51-42 lead. Just like the first half, Louisville responded with a 7-2 run. Ray Spalding grabbed back-to-back put backs off offensive rebounds to cut the Notre Dame lead to 53-51 with 11:57 remaining.
Ryan McMahon entered the game and missed his first three, but didn’t waste his second. His left-corner three brought the game to 59-56. Free throws by Jaylen Johnson made the ND lead one with seven minutes to play.
Trailing down by three with three minutes left, U of L tied the game with two minutes left. A costly turnover by Spalding allowed for ND to take a one-point lead.
Free throws by Farrell put the Irish up three with 1:05 to play. Adel lost his balance while handling the ball, leading to another turnover. Notre Dame iced the game with free throws.
