UCLA
7-4,0-0Pac-12
Notre Dame
8-3,0-2ACC
UCLA Drops Road Decision to Notre Dame, 75-61
December 14, 2019 | Men's Basketball
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The UCLA men's basketball team dropped a 75-61 decision at Notre Dame in a non-conference showdown on Saturday afternoon at Purcell Pavilion.
In the Bruins' first game at Notre Dame since Dec. 2009, Chris Smith finished with a team-leading 10 points. Shareef O'Neal totaled eight points and a season-high 11 rebounds off the bench.
Prince Ali and Jaime Jaquez Jr. each scored nine points on Saturday, in what marked the 50th meeting in the all-time series between the two schools.
UCLA (7-4) out-rebounded Notre Dame by a 48-40 margin and had 29 points from its reserves.
Notre Dame (8-3) never trailed on its home court, making 15 of 39 attempts from 3-point range. Prentiss Hubbs led the Fighting Irish with 20 points. He scored 17 points in the second half.
Notre Dame's John Mooney had 14 points and a team-leading 15 rebounds. Dane Goodwin scored 14 of his 16 points before halftime.
In the first half, Notre Dame missed on 11 of their first 13 shot attempts before converting from 3-point range on three consecutive possessions to secure a 20-8 cushion with 8:13 to play before the break. The Fighting Irish increased its lead to 14 points with 1:48 to play before UCLA closed the gap, using a 7-0 scoring run to head into the locker room at halftime, trailing 31-24.
Notre Dame scored the first six points of the second half, and the Fighting Irish' lead never fell to fewer than 10 points the Bruins, who remain one victory shy of the 1,900-carer win mark (in program history).
UCLA returns to action at the CBS Sports Classic against No. 17-ranked North Carolina on Saturday, Dec. 21. Game time at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas is set for 12 p.m. (PT). The Bruins' game will be nationally televised on CBS. The second game of the day's doubleheader will feature Kentucky and Ohio State.
