SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Braeden Shrewsberry equaled his career-high by scoring 25 points, while teammates J.R. Konieczny and Tae Davis contributed 15 points each, leading Notre Dame to a narrow 69-64 victory over Syracuse in the season opener of the ACC for both teams on Saturday.
The Fighting Irish enjoyed a four-point lead at halftime, which remained until Donnie Freeman’s layup allowed Syracuse to seize its first advantage of the match at 34-33, just over 16 minutes into the second half. Shrewsberry quickly responded with back-to-back three-pointers to regain momentum for Notre Dame.
Throughout the second half, Syracuse would momentarily take the lead on three occasions, but each time Notre Dame countered either by tying the score or reclaiming the lead shortly thereafter. The decisive moment came with 3.5 minutes left when Shrewsberry sank his fifth three-pointer, putting the Fighting Irish ahead 63-60. He then extended the lead to 67-62 with just under 2.5 minutes remaining after hitting his sixth three-pointer.
In the second half, Notre Dame’s largest margin was five points, while Syracuse had brief leads of two points on two separate occasions.
Freeman was a standout for Syracuse, registering a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Jyare Davis also added 20 points to the Orange’s efforts.
The Fighting Irish (5-5) maintained control in the first half, never trailing, and held their strongest lead at eight points. Konieczny led Notre Dame in scoring during that half with 13 points, joining Shrewsberry and Davis to total 29 points collectively. For the entire game, these three players accounted for 55 of Notre Dame’s total points.
This victory marked a welcome end to a four-game losing streak for Notre Dame, a stretch that correlated with a knee injury to Markus Burton, who had been the only player in Division I averaging over 20 points, five assists, and five rebounds before his injury.
In the historical context, Syracuse still holds the advantage in the all-time series against Notre Dame, leading 34-23.