Irish unable to maintain lead in 78-73 loss at Syracuse

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WNDU) - The Notre Dame men’s basketball team blew a 12-point lead in the second half against Syracuse on Saturday night, falling to the Orange 78-73 at the JMA Wireless Dome.

The Fighting Irish (9-9, 1-6 ACC) regained the lead with less than three minutes left to play thanks to a Marcus Hammond 3-pointer. However, that was the last field goal for Notre Dame until Nate Laszewski made a layup with seven seconds left in the game.

Meanwhile, Syracuse (12-6, 5-2 ACC) closed the game on a 24-10 scoring run to steal the victory from the Irish, who remain winless in road games this season.

Hammond led the Irish on offense with 18 points. Dane Goodwin added 15 with six assists and Laszewski had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Trey Wertz added 12 points.

Wertz and Hammond each hit four of the Fighting Irish’s season-high 15 3-pointers. Laszewski, Goodwin, Wertz and Hammond each hit a 3-pointer in a span of about four minutes to give Notre Dame (9-9, 1-6) a 59-47 lead — matching its largest of the game — with 12 minutes to play.

Notre Dame returns home to take on Florida State on Tuesday, Jan. 17. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on ESPNU.