National Basketball Association
Notre Dame 90, North Carolina 82
When: 8:30 PM ET, Saturday, March 14, 2015
Where: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, North Carolina
Officials:
# Brian Dorsey, # Mike Eades, # Bryan Kersey
Attendance:
22026
By SportsDirect Inc.
No. 9 Notre Dame 90, No. 19 North Carolina 82: Jerian Grant scored 15 of his 24 points from the free-throw line and handed out 10 assists as the Fighting Irish downed the Tar Heels to claim their first ACC tournament title.
Pat Connaughton went 4-of-5 from 3-point range to finish with 20 points for third-seeded Notre Dame (29-5), which shot 54.2 percent en route to its first conference tournament championship in program history. Zach Auguste added 16 points and 13 rebounds, Steve Vasturia scored 14 points and Demetrius Jackson had 11 for the Fighting Irish, who finished 28-of-32 from the foul line.
Marcus Paige scored 22 of his team-high 24 points in the second half for fifth-seeded North Carolina (24-11), which fell in the ACC tournament final for the fourth time in five years. Brice Johnson tallied 20 points on 10-of-12 shooting while J.P. Tokoto had seven points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Tar Heels, who led by nine with 11:36 remaining.
Paige buried two 3-pointers as part of a 14-2 surge to open the second half to put North Carolina on top 48-41 and it led by eight before Vasturia keyed a 15-0 surge to put Notre Dame back in front by seven with 6:15 left. Tokoto's dunk trimmed the deficit to seven before Connaughton sparked a 9-0 burst as the Fighting Irish pulled ahead to stay at 80-66.
Kennedy Meeks finished at the rim on two straight trips as North Carolina jumped ahead 19-13 before Connaughton and Grant scored five points apiece during a 12-0 run to put Notre Dame in front by five near the midway point of the opening stanza. Vasturia converted a three-point play to end a field goal drought of over seven minutes and drained a 3-pointer just before the first half ended to give the Fighting Irish a 39-34 lead.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Notre Dame went 10-of-20 from 3-point range while North Carolina finished 7-of-24. … The Fighting Irish went 50-of-57 from the foul line in their last two tournament games. … The Tar Heels' bench outscored Notre Dame's reserves 16-5.
Top Game Performances
| North Carolina |
|
Notre Dame |
|
Marcus Paige 24 |
Scoring |
Jerian Grant 24 |
|
J.P. Tokoto 7 |
Assists |
Jerian Grant 10 |
|
J.P. Tokoto 6 |
Rebounds |
Zach Auguste 13 |
|
Joel Berry II 2 |
Free Throws Made |
Jerian Grant 15 |
|
J.P. Tokoto 4 |
Steals |
Demetrius Jackson 3 |
|
Justin Jackson 1 |
Blocks |
Zach Auguste 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| North Carolina
|
82 |
53.0 |
7-24 |
5-7 |
21 |
25 |
1 |
5 |
13 |
| Notre Dame
|
90 |
54.2 |
10-20 |
28-32 |
16 |
24 |
2 |
9 |
13 |
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