SOUTH BEND, Ind. — In an exciting matchup on Monday evening, Tae Davis delivered an impressive performance, scoring a career-high 27 points, while Markus Burton contributed 19 points along with nearly achieving a triple-double. The Notre Dame team emerged victorious against Buffalo with a final score of 86-77.
Despite being down by two points at halftime, the Fighting Irish ignited the second half with a remarkable 24-2 run, which featured an astonishing stretch of 20 consecutive points, ultimately taking control of the game for good.
During this significant surge, Braeden Shrewsberry made a notable impact by scoring 11 points, propelling Notre Dame to a commanding 62-42 advantage with just over 13 minutes left on the clock. Buffalo attempted to respond quickly and managed to trim their deficit to 11 points, eventually narrowing the gap to just seven points with 7.5 minutes to play.
In the last part of the match, the teams exchanged baskets, while Notre Dame capitalized at the free-throw line. Buffalo, however, struggled to close the distance further than seven points. Heading into the final minute, Notre Dame maintained an 82-72 lead.
Buffalo’s Ryan Sabol completed a three-point play that brought the score to 82-75, but Davis sealed the victory for Notre Dame by making all four of his free-throw attempts down the stretch. Davis concluded the night with 7 field goals on 13 attempts and excelled at the free-throw line, hitting 12 out of 13 shots. Meanwhile, Burton’s shooting was less prolific at 8-for-21, but he added nine rebounds, eight assists, and three steals to his overall contributions. Shrewsberry finished the game with 19 points, while Kebba Njie contributed 12 points.
As a team, Notre Dame (2-0) exhibited strong shooting throughout, finishing the game with an accuracy rate of 51% and converting 15 of 18 free throws in the second half, totaling 21 out of 27 for the entire game.
On the other hand, Sabol led the Buffalo Bulls (2-1) with 18 points, scoring 15 of those in the first half. Ben Michaels supported with 14 points, while Bryson Wilson provided a strong bench performance with 15 points. Freshman Frederiks Meinarts, standing 7-feet tall and hailing from Latvia, also contributed with 10 points.
Initially, Notre Dame held a lead of 20-12 before Sabol sparked a turnaround, scoring eight points in a 12-1 run that allowed Buffalo to move ahead 24-21 with under eight minutes remaining in the first half. Before halftime, Buffalo extended their lead to 37-30. However, J.R. Konieczny’s three-point shot and a subsequent three-point play helped Notre Dame regain a lead at 38-37, only for Sabol to hit another three-pointer that gave Buffalo a narrow 40-38 advantage as they went into halftime.