Notre Dame Men’s Basketball: No. 5 Florida State Escapes Irish

Wyatt Wilkes scored a career high 19 points, and John Mooney was held without a double-double for the first time in 12 games as the No. 5 Florida State Seminoles defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 85-84, Saturday in Tallahassee.

The Irish were up by as many as 11 points very early, and down by 14 early in the second half. But a five-minute-plus Seminoles scoring drought gave the Irish late life.

The difference in the game was three point shooting. The Seminoles, who entered the game shooting 34.2 percent from beyond the arc, went 12-for-18 (66.7 percent). The Irish, meanwhile, were 10-for-27 (37 percent).

The Seminoles, the ACC’s best free throw shooting team, also went 13-for-14 from the charity stripe.

Mooney, who leads the county with 13.9 rebounds per game, managed just five boards.

T.J. Gibbs fouled out with the Irish down seven with under four minutes remaining, diminishing hopes of a late upset. The Irish also turned over the ball on three consecutive possessions late, including a questionable traveling call on Rex Pflueger that drew a technical foul.

Prentiss Hubb lead all scorers with 24 points, while Juwan Durham had lead all players with nine rebounds. Pflueger had four assists in the losing effort.

The Irish (11-8, 2-6) have now lost four out of their last five games. They’ll host the Wake Forest Demon Deacons Wednesday evening at Purcell Pavillion. That game will also be broadcast by the ACC Network.