ACC Tournament Roundup: Miami, Notre Dame, Pitt Pick Up 1st-Round Wins
Posted on Tuesday, Mar. 12, 2019, 5:44 pm
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If you missed any of Tuesday’s opening-day action in Charlotte, we’ve got you covered. Here’s a recap of the ACC Tournament’s first day, brought to you by our friends at Blue Ridge Bank:
Game 1: No. 12 Miami 79, No. 13 Wake Forest 71
Miami’s Anthony Lawrence II (3) shoots over Wake’s Sharone Wright Jr. (2) and Jaylen Hoard (10). (Photo by Liz Condo, the ACC)
DJ Vasiljevic scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Hurricanes (14-17) to the win over the Demon Deacons, whose season ends with a record of 11-20.
Miami’s Anthony Lawrence II added a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Chris Lykes finished with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
Wake was led by Brandon Childress and Jaylen Hoard, each of whom had 16 points.
The Hurricanes advance to face No. 5 seed Virginia Tech Wednesday at 2:30 p.m.
Game 2: No. 15 Notre Dame 78, No. 10 Georgia Tech 71
Notre Dame’s Juwan Durham dunks during the first round Tuesday. (Photo by Liz Condo, the ACC)
Notre Dame’s John Mooney notched another double-double (20 points, 10 rebounds) to lead the Fighting Irish to an upset win over the Yellow Jackets.
Notre Dame built a 20-point halftime lead, but Georgia Tech (14-18) battled back in the second half, trimming the lead all the way down to 3 points, 72-69, on a Khalid Moore 3-pointer with just over a minute to play, but the Irish held on to end a seven-game losing streak.
Irish freshmen Dane Goodwin (15 points) and Nate Laszewski (14 points) helped their team move on, with Juwan Durham providing a lift with a dozen off the bench.
Georgia Tech was led by Moses Wright’s 25 points in the losing effort, while James Banks III, Moore and Michael Devoe also scored in double figures.
Notre Dame (14-18) will face No. 7 Louisville Wednesday night.
Game 3: No. 14 Pittsburgh 80, No. 11 Boston College 70
Pitt’s Xavier Johnson reacts to his shot against Boston College Tuesday. (Photo by Sara D. Davis, the ACC)
The freshman backcourt duo of Trey McGowens and Xavier Johnson led Pitt to a convincing victory to cap off opening night at the Spectrum Center.
The Eagles (14-17) grabbed an early lead but the Panthers (14-18) closed the first half on a 23-5 run to lead by 15 at the break.
McGowens and Johnson both finished the night shooting 50 percent from the field (both 7 for 14) as the Eagles saw their season come to an end.
McGowens led all scorers with 26 points, while Johnson scored 14 of his 23 prior to halftime. Jared Wilson-Frame added 16 points, including three 3-pointers in the victory.
BC was paced by Nik Popovic’s 21 points and 9 rebounds, while Jordan Chatman (16 points) and Ky Bowman (14) combined for 30.
The Panthers will square off against No. 6 seed Syracuse Wednesday at 9 p.m.
