National Basketball Association
Pittsburgh 56, Notre Dame 53
When: 12:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 9, 2019
Where: Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Officials:
# Ron Groover, # Sean Hull, # Jerry Heater
Attendance:
8602
By Field Level Media
Trey McGowens scored 16 points as host Pittsburgh snapped a 13-game losing streak with a 56-53 victory over Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon in a clash of Atlantic Coast Conference cellar-dwelling teams.
Jared Wilson-Frame salvaged a 4-for-17 shooting performance by making four 3-pointers for the Panthers (13-18, 3-15), who recorded their first win since posting a 75-62 victory over Florida State on Jan. 14.
Nate Laszewski scored a season-high 23 points for the Fighting Irish (13-18, 3-15), who have dropped seven in a row. The freshman forward eclipsed his previous best point total of 19, set in a 63-61 loss at Georgia Tech on Jan. 22
Notre Dame's John Mooney, who averaged a team-best 14.4 points entering the game, shot 1-for-11 from the floor and finished with four points.
After closing the first half on a 13-2 run, Pittsburgh continued its momentum in the second as Wilson-Frame drained three 3-pointers to push the team's advantage to 50-42 with under seven minutes to play.
Laszewski answered by connecting three times from beyond the arc in a 2:08 span to bring the Fighting Irish within one at 52-51 with 2:01 to play, but TJ Gibbs misfired on a go-ahead 3-point attempt to effectively end the game.
The sputtering clubs struggled out of the gate, as Pittsburgh and Notre Dame combined to shoot 19-for-57 from the floor and 9-for-28 from 3-point range in the first half.
Laszewski made a 3-pointer on consecutive possessions and Dane Goodwin followed a pair of foul shots with a short jumper to propel the Fighting Irish to a 24-12 lead with seven minutes remaining in the first half.
Notre Dame went cold from the floor, however, and was outscored by a 10-0 margin over the next 6:21 to see its lead dwindle to 24-22.
McGowens sandwiched a 3-pointer and a dunk around Malik Ellison's short jumper before Laszewski's layup ended Notre Dame's scoring drought with 39 seconds left in the half. McGowens promptly drained a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession to trim the Fighting Irish's lead to 26-25 at intermission.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Notre Dame |
|
Pittsburgh |
Nate Laszewski 23 |
Scoring |
Trey McGowens 16 |
Prentiss Hubb 7 |
Assists |
Xavier Johnson 6 |
John Mooney 13 |
Rebounds |
Kene Chukwuka 6 |
Dane Goodwin 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Xavier Johnson 2 |
N/A |
Steals |
Malik Ellison 2 |
Juwan Durham 2 |
Blocks |
Kene Chukwuka 1 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Notre Dame
|
53 |
32.7 |
9-26 |
10-15 |
15 |
34 |
5 |
0 |
10 |
Pittsburgh
|
56 |
37.9 |
8-22 |
4-8 |
14 |
31 |
2 |
6 |
9 |