Virginia Cavaliers vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish Match Player Stats On Dec 30, 2020

Kihei Clark tied a season high with 19 points and No. 23 Virginia never trailed while opening Atlantic Coast Conference play with a 66-57 victory over Notre Dame on Wednesday night in South Bend, Ind.

The Cavaliers (5-2, 1-0 ACC) rebounded from a 98-75 loss to top-ranked Gonzaga on Saturday and won their 13th consecutive league opener.

Clark hit 7 of 12 field-goal attempts, including 2 of 4 from 3-point range. He added five assists without a turnover.

Jay Huff contributed 15 points and five rebounds while being limited to 24 minutes due to foul trouble, and Sam Hauser scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Virginia shot 46.6 percent (27 of 58) and beat Notre Dame for the 10th straight time in an ACC regular-season game.

Nate Laszewski scored a career-high 28 points to help Notre Dame (3-5, 0-2) hang around for most of the game. The junior made 8 of 11 shots and grabbed six rebounds.

Juwan Durham added 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting for Notre Dame, which shot 40 percent from the floor and endured a rough night from its top two scorers, Prentis Hubb and Dane Goodwin. The pair were held to a combined nine points on 3-of-16 shooting and were 1 of 9 from 3-point range as the Fighting Irish misfired on 15 of 20 3-point tries.

Notre Dame also lost fourth-leading scorer Trey Wertz to a sprained left ankle late in the first half. He hobbled off the floor when he stepped on Huff's foot with 30 seconds left before halftime.

Virginia held a 23-14 lead with 3:41 remaining following a jumper by Hauser but Laszewski hit two 3-pointers and converted a 3-point play to get Notre Dame within 26-23. The Cavaliers held a 30-24 lead at halftime after Cormac Ryan's half-court 3-pointer came just after the buzzer.

Virginia took a 42-32 lead on a layup by Clark with 15:24 left but Notre Dame was within 47-46 on a dunk by Durham with 8:26 left. Virginia expanded its lead to 60-53 on Clark's 3-point play with 2:50 left and clinched the win when Huff converted a dunk for a 65-55 lead with 63 seconds remaining.

--Field Level Media