Mark Mitchell scores career-high 23 points as No. 14 Duke knocks off Notre Dame 67-59
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Mark Mitchell scored 19 of his career-high 23 points in the second half, and No. 14 Duke pulled away from Notre Dame for a 67-59 victory on Saturday.
The 6-foot-9 Mitchell also grabbed 14 rebounds, continuing his midseason surge. The sophomore forward scored 21 points in an 86-66 win against Syracuse on Tuesday night.
Duke (11-3, 2-1 ACC) earned its sixth consecutive victory. Jeremy Roach went 9 for 9 at the free-throw line and scored 18 points for the Blue Devils. Jared McCain finished with 11 points.
Freshman guard Markus Burton led Notre Dame with 18 points. Braeden Shrewsberry made four 3-pointers and finished with 12 points.
The Fighting Irish (6-9, 1-3) led 24-15 with 7:06 left in the first half. But the Blue Devils responded with a 14-3 run for a 29-27 lead at the break.
“I thought we showed amazing toughness, the way we closed the end of the first half,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “That’s huge if you can end a half that way, when you don’t play your best.”
Mitchell then took over, scoring Duke’s first 14 points in the second half. Notre Dame closed to 57-55 on Tae Davis’ layup with about three minutes left, but Kyle Filipowski responded with a layup for Duke and Mitchell scored on a putback.
Mitchell was 8 for 12 from the field and 2 for 2 from 3-point range. He was 1 for 22 from beyond the arc coming into the game.
“The job Mark Mitchell did ... let me just tell you how proud I am of him,” Scheyer said. “He’s been working his butt off, consistently. He’s been really decisive and playing more confidently.”
Mitchell was averaging 12 points and shooting 48.5% from the field coming into the day. In his last two games, he is averaging 22 points and shooting 68.2% (15 of 22).
“I think it’s just coming to me,” Mitchell said. “Obviously, my teammates have been helping me. I’ve been working on my game ... and talking to God, really. When you do those things, only good things can happen.”
Mitchell helped pick up the slack for a shaky performance by the 7-foot Filipowski, who finished with seven points on 2-for-12 shooting.
Notre Dame coach Micah Shrewsberry appreciated his team’s gritty effort against the Blue Devils.
“It doesn’t matter what it says on your jersey, on the front or the back, we’re going to fight you ... we’re going to fight,” Shrewsberry said.
“They really care. Those dudes are hurt, man. They were really hurting after this, because they put everything into it.”
Notre Dame’s Kebba Njie said his team hurt itself with a slow start to the second half.
“The start of the second half, we didn’t come out great. That really gave them a spark," he said. "That’s where the game opened up. That put us in the hole. Other than that, we were fighting with them, I feel like the whole time.”
BIG PICTURE
Duke: The Blue Devils committed nine of their 11 turnovers in the first half, and none in the final 11 minutes. They outscored the Irish 18-5 in points off turnovers. They also went 17 for 21 at the line, compared to 8 for 16 for Notre Dame.
Notre Dame: Njie gave the Irish a lift with nine points, 10 rebounds and two blocked shots.
UP NEXT
Duke: Visits Pittsburgh on Tuesday. The Blue Devils play the Panthers twice in their next three games.
Notre Dame: Visits Georgia Tech on Tuesday.
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