Quick Recap: Notre Dame Men’s Hoops Falls to Syracuse 72 to 62

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish dropped their second ACC game this afternoon, losing to the Syracuse Orange 72 to 62 after playing Syracuse pretty tough and even leading the game at halftime and for small stretches.

The Irish were led by T.J. Gibbs, who had 18 points and 5 assists while shooting 6-of-13 from deep. John Mooney (14 points, 13 rebounds) also had a fantastic game and was the key reason the Irish stayed in it in the second half, as his fire and toughness on the boards and in getting to the free throw line were HUGE when the Irish were struggling offensively. DJ Harvey added 11, and Nate Laszewski played a solid game, kicking in 9 points and 6 rebounds. The Irish shot 35% from the field and 33% from long range.

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The Syracuse Orange were just too athletic and shot too well for the Irish to hang with them — especially down the stretch, when Syracuse was able to get buckets while the Irish struggled mightily to manufacture any offense (outscored 12-4 in the last 6 minutes of play).

The Orange were led by the trio of Elijah Hughes (22 points on 6-of-13 shooting from deep, 10 rebounds), Oshae Brissett (19 points, 11 rebounds), and Tyus Battle (17 points, 5 rebounds), and got a little help from Frank Howard’s 8 points and 4 assists as well. They shot 41% from the field and from deep.

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The Irish fell to 10-5 on the year overall and 0-2 in ACC play. They will play next a week from now against the Boston College Eagles on Saturday, 1/12 at Purcell Pavilion.