FINAL: Kentucky falls to Notre Dame 66-62 despite Oscar Tshiebwe's 25 points
It was close from the opening tip to the final buzzer, but No. 10 Kentucky couldn’t take down the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday night. The first true road game of the season for the Wildcats ended in a 66-62 defeat.
Oscar Tshiebwe powered Kentucky all night long, finishing with 25 points, seven rebounds, and three steals on 11-14 shooting. This was the first game all season he did not register double-digit rebounds. Notre Dame saw four players score 10-plus points as the Fighting Irish put a stop to its three-game losing streak. Kentucky was outrebounded 33-28.
The first half of action was about as even and fast-paced as a basketball game could be. Neither team created a lead greater than four points in the opening 20 minutes. Both sides were constantly trading baskets as the speed was incredibly high and foul calls were at a minimum.
At the break, neither team had attempted a single free throw. Kentucky was able to hold a slight lead at 30-28, but the ‘Cats were bogged down by an 0-10 clip from beyond the arc. However, Oscar Tshiebwe kept UK alive, adding 12 points and six rebounds.
Out of the locker room, Kentucky still couldn’t break away from the Fighting Irish. UK managed to stay ahead by 2-4 points consistently, but Notre Dame always found a way to hit a tough shot and keep the crowd in the game. However, ND had zero answers for Tshiebwe.
Kentucky began force-feeding the ball to Tshiebwe nearly every possession, which was met with high success. The Wildcat big man added 10 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half, all of them coming at the free-throw line or right at the rim. On the other end of the court, the UK defense began to set the tone, but the team as a whole couldn’t quite step on the gas pedal.
Eventually, Notre Dame took advantage. After Kentucky took its first five-point lead of the night, the Fighting Irish responded right back, taking its own five-point lead with under four minutes left. For the first time since the season-opener against Duke, UK had its backs against the wall.
Luckily for Kentucky, the super-seniors came up clutch. Trailing 56-51 with 3:14 left, Davion Mintz converted an and-one, which was quickly followed up by a contested three-pointer from Kellan Grady right before the shot clock buzzer. Just like that, UK was back in front. A Notre Dame free-throw would tie the game up at 62 with just 51 seconds to go.
Unfortunately for the ‘Cats, that’s as close as it would get. Notre Dame hit a jumper with 11 seconds left to go up two as Kentucky failed to score on the other end. UK goes down 66-62.
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