Notre Dame drops ACC opener to Syracuse, 62-61

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) - The Fighting Irish men’s basketball team starts their conference schedule 0-1 after dropping a down-to-the-wire contest to Syracuse on Saturday by a final score of 62-61.

Dane Goodwin paced the Irish on the scoreboard and the backboard, coming one board shy of a double double with 16 points and 9 rebounds. The team also benefitted from the regular season debut of grad transfer guard Marcus Hammond.

Hammond -- who had been recovering from an MCL sprain -- came off the bench midway through the first half and drained his first shot from beyond the arc. He finished the game with 6 points, nailing a clutch and-1 in the late stages to give the Irish a 61-60 lead.

But Orange freshman Judah Mintz put away a go-ahead layup with around 15 seconds to put his team in front 62-61. Notre Dame’s eventual response -- a contested Goodwin corner jump shot -- would not fall.

Notre Dame will play yet another home game in just a few days, hosting Boston University on Wednesday, December 7th.

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