Notre Dame Holds Strong Late to Defeat NC State
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame went on a 15-0 run early in the second half and turned back every NC State comeback attempt to defeat the Pack, 73-65, inside Purcell Pavilion Wednesday evening.
The game was tied at 30 at the half and the Pack came out and scored the first five points of the second half to take a 35-30 lead.
After a Notre Dame timeout, Nate Laszewski scored the next eight points of the game to give the Fighting Irish a lead it would never relinquish. Notre Dame would extend the run to 15-0 to take a 45-35 lead with 14:03 to play.
The Pack would battle back to get within three, 49-46, on a Casey Morsell three-pointer, but Notre Dame responded with a three on its next possession to go back up by six.
NC State would never get closer than four points the rest of the way.
Dereon Seabron led the Pack with 21 points and eight rebounds. It was the ninth 20-plus point performance of the season for the Norfolk, Va., native.
Jericole Hellems added 14 points while Casey Morsell finished with 10 points and a career-high-tying eight rebounds.
Cam Hayes reached double figures for the first time in 10 games with 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
The two teams were even at the break after a first half that saw both teams shoot under 40 percent from the field. The largest lead for either team in the first half was a five-point advantage for NC State at 16-11. The two teams exchanged the lead eight times and had seven ties in the opening 20 minutes.
Laszewski led the Fighting Irish with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting and had 11 rebounds.
Notre Dame, the ACC’s top three-point shooting team, hit 11 three-pointers in the game.
NC State returns to action Saturday when it travels to Chapel Hill to play rival North Carolina. Tipoff in the Smith Center is scheduled for 2 p.m. and the game will be televised on the ACC Network.