Cavaliers improve to 12-0 in ACC openers under Bennett
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Kihei Clark had 19 points and five assists, and No. 23 Virginia continued its dominance over Notre Dame with a 66-57 victory Wednesday night.
The Cavaliers (5-2, 1-0) improved to 12-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference openers under coach Tony Bennett and 10-0 in ACC regular-season matchups against the Fighting Irish.
Jay Huff scored 15 points for Virginia, and Sam Hauser added 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Notre Dame (3-5, 0-2) fell despite a career-high 28 points from Nate Laszewski. The junior forward hit 8 of 11 shots from the field with four 3-pointers to go with 8 of 10 at the line.
Juwan Durham added 19 points for the Irish.
The Cavaliers led from 4-2 onward and by a high of 11 points early in the second half.
Notre Dame clawed within one point twice, but never drew even and was outscored 9-2 over the final three minutes.
Big picture
The Cavaliers, after plunging from No. 4 in the preseason poll to No. 23 in the latest one, bounced back on the heels of their 98-75 loss against No. 1 Gonzaga on Saturday. Now they play six of their next eight at home as they look to climb back up the rankings.
NO. 23VIRGINIA 66, NOTRE DAME 57 VIRGINIA (5-2)
Hauser 5-13 0-0 13, Huff 7-9 0-0 15, Clark 7-12 3-6 19, Morsell 2-9 1-2 6, Murphy 2-5 0-0 5, Woldetensae 0-2 0-0 0, Beekman 0-2 0-0 0, McKoy 3-5 0-0 6, Shedrick 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 27-58 4-8 66.
NOTRE DAME (3-5)
Laszewski 8-11 8-10 28, Goodwin 2-8 0-0 5, Hubb 1-8 2-2 4, Ryan 0-4 0-0 0, Wertz 0-2
1-2 1, Durham 7-11 5-7 19, Djogo 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-45 16-21 57.
Halftime—Virginia 30-24. 3-Point Goals— Virginia 8-26(Hauser 3-8, Clark 2-4, Huff
1-3, Morsell 1-3, Murphy 1-4, Beekman 0-1, McKoy 0-1, Woldetensae 0-2), Notre Dame 5-20(Laszewski 4-7, Goodwin 1-3, Djogo 0-1, Ryan 0-3, Hubb 0-6). Rebounds—Virginia 33 (Hauser 10), Notre Dame 30(Goodwin 7). Assists—Virginia 14(Clark 5), Notre Dame 13(Hubb : 8. Total Fouls—Virginia 15, Notre Dame 11. A—86(9,149).