NCAA College Basketball Box Scores

National Basketball Association

BOXSCORE | RECAP

Notre Dame 75, Clemson 70

When: 3:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 7, 2017
Where: Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center, South Bend, Indiana
Officials: # Bill Covington, # Lee Jones, # Earl Watson
Attendance: 9149

By The Sports Xchange

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame figured it out for another Atlantic Coast Conference win.

Matt Farrell connected on a 3-pointer with the shot clock running down and nine seconds remaining to seal the No. 23 Fighting Irish's 75-70 victory on Saturday over Clemson in Purcell Pavilion.

Farrell ignored any possible play call from the bench to run something for himself. It's called "flat" when the other four Irish players move toward the baseline and clear out space to drive for Farrell. He ran the same set earlier this year against Northwestern, when he got to the rim and got fouled for a game-winning three-point play.

This time, there was no drive. Farrell pulled up for a wing 3 in front of the Irish bench and delivered the dagger. He wanted to take the shot after playing as poor a first half as he has all season, then being called out at halftime by coach Mike Brey. His tirade included choice words and a kicked garbage can trying to get his team to wake up.

Everybody woke up.

"I just wanted to win the game," Farrell said. "It's a real gritty win for us."

V.J. Beachem scored 22 points for the Irish (14-2, 3-0). Jaron Blossomgame had 22 for Clemson (11-4, 1-2).

It was the third league game for Notre Dame, and it would swing on game situations with the score tied at 53 and 10:17 left. Then it was tied at 55 with 7:37 left.

Saturday featured seven ties (all in the second half and all over the final 11 minutes) and 15 lead changes (11 the final 20 minutes).

Clemson thought it had Notre Dame back on its collective heels. But the Irish just made more plays -- winning plays -- when they needed it again.

"It's really fun for us to have confidence to make a play," said sophomore guard Rex Pflueger, who made one on an assist to Bonzie Colson for a basket with 59.8 seconds left. "We don't worry. We just know it's going to happen."

If it wasn't Beachem or Farrell (15 points), it was Steve Vasturia (14 points) or Colson (13 points, 12 rebounds).

"It's hard to guard them all," said Tigers coach Brad Brownell. "They are tremendous basketball players. They play with great confidence."

Still, Clemson had a chance at a big road. Down by two and under a minute remaining, Gabe DeVoe got a clean look at a 3, but left it just short.

"He hesitated just a touch, but still got a reasonably good look," Brownell said. "It just didn't go in. That was a big play."

NOTES: Clemson guard Gabe DeVoe made a career-high four 3-pointers in the first 15 minutes of the first half. ... The Tigers entered Saturday's game tied with four other teams for the national lead with four wins over Top 50 teams in the Ratings Percentage Index. ... Clemson was picked in preseason to finish 11th in the ACC. ... Saturday started a stretch of three of four league games on the road for Clemson. ... The Tigers went 10-2 in nonconference play, their best record since 2009-10. They beat the likes of Alabama, Georgia, Nebraska and South Carolina with losses to No. 16 Xavier and Oklahoma. ... Notre Dame entered the weekend national leaders in assist/turnover ratio (2.02), free throw percentage (84.1) and fewest turnovers per game (9.2). ... Saturday was career game No. 700 for Notre Dame coach Mike Brey. ... This is the last Irish home game until Jan. 21, when they host Syracuse.

Top Game Performances

Clemson		Notre Dame
Jaron Blossomgame 22	Scoring	V.J. Beachem 22
Shelton Mitchell 5	Assists	Matt Farrell 7
Jaron Blossomgame 8	Rebounds	Bonzie Colson 12
Jaron Blossomgame 4	Free Throws Made	Bonzie Colson 2
Gabe DeVoe 2	Steals	V.J. Beachem 2
Elijah Thomas 4	Blocks	Bonzie Colson 1

Team Stats Summary

Team	Points	FG%	3PM-3PA	FTM-FTA	Assists	Rebounds	Blocks	Steals	Turnovers
Clemson	70	49.1	7-18	7-8	14	27	5	6	12
Notre Dame	75	46.7	15-32	4-6	18	27	2	6	10