Notre Dame Basketball Secures Much-Needed Win Over Pittsburgh

For a pleasant change it was Notre Dame that took care of business late on Saturday against Pitt

Feb 22, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward Nikita Konstantynovskyi (25) passes the ball to guard Markus Burton (3) in the first half against the Pittsburgh Panthers at the Purcell Pavilion. / Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

And with that, Notre Dame's losing skid has come to an end.

Granted, it was only two games but having lost five of its previous six entering Saturday's home tilt against Pittsburgh, it was clear that Notre Dame was in desperate need of a victory.

And a victory is what it went and got late.

Tae Davis scored 21 points and Markus Burton added 20 as Notre Dame defeated Pittsburgh 76-72 in a back-and-forth contest. Things stayed within five points for the entire first 33 minutes, but Notre Dame then went on an 11-2 run, fueled by seven points from Burton and four from Davis, to take a 65-56 lead with four minutes left.

The Fighting Irish hit seven of their last nine shots but struggled in the final two minutes with two turnovers and limited offense. Fortunately, the Irish were solid from the charity stripe to clinch the victory.

IRISH WIN#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/xBP9lTWrM8

— Notre Dame Men's Basketball (@NDmbb) February 22, 2025

Pittsburgh made a late push and cut the lead to 74-72 with eight seconds remaining, but J.R. Konieczny sealed the win for Notre Dame, making two key free throws in the final moments. Cameron Corhen scored 12 of Pittsburgh's first 21 points, helping them lead by two with 7:30 left in the first half. The game was tied 30-30 at halftime. For Notre Dame, Cole Certa contributed 12 points, and Konieczny added 10. Ishmael Leggett led the Panthers with 21 points.

Notre Dame extended its home winning streak over Pittsburgh to five games on a day it was without guards Braeden Shrewsberry and Matt Allocco.

Notre Dame tries to make it two-straight on Wednesday as it will travel to No. 18 Clemson in ACC action.

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