Quick Recap: Notre Dame Men’s Basketball Loses Another Close One at #18 Florida State, 68 to 61

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish men’s hoops team lost in a close one to the Florida State Seminoles this evening, falling 68 to 61 on the road and making them 13-15 (3-12 ACC) on the year.

The Irish were led by D.J. Harvey’s 18 points and Prentiss Hubb’s 17 points and 7 rebounds. John Mooney added 14 and 8, and the Irish shot 40% from both the field and from three point land. T.J. Gibbs, notably, had a poor shooting night, as he made just 2-of-9 shots and scored only 4 points after averaging 19.5 ppg over the last 4 contests.

Florida State, meanwhile, shot 45% from the field and 32% from deep, led by Devin Vassell’s 13 points and 7 rebounds. Christ Koumadje added 12 and 5, and Mfiondu Kabengele scored 10 in the winning effort.

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The two teams were even at halftime with 33 points apiece, as the Irish shot uncharacteristically well, knocking down 6-of-13 three pointers. D.J. Harvey (11 points) and Prentiss Hubb (10 points) paced the first half effort and actually pushed the Irish to a 10-point lead early on, but the Seminoles stormed back behind Chris Koumadje (8 points), Mfiondu Kabengele (6 points), and Devin Vassell (6 points). FSU turned the ball over 9 times in the first half.

In the 2nd half, the Irish kept the good mojo going, opening on an 11-4 run to take an 8-point lead into the first media timeout, as Harvey and Hubb both continued their strong shooting during the run.

From there, Florida State trimmed the lead a bit, and then the two teams traded baskets as the ND lead hovered around 3-5 for a solid stretch of the game. The Seminoles then went on a little run, taking the lead with roughly 6 minutes to go.

For the next 5 minutes, Notre Dame failed to make a field goal, but still managed to be down just 63-61 with about 35 seconds to play.

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However, down the stretch, the Seminoles hit enough free throws and the Irish struggled to get any more buckets, ultimately falling by 7 in Tallahassee.

The Irish play again on Sunday at the Louisville Cardinals.