Ebuka Okorie had a game-leading 24 points as Stanford got its first-ever win against Notre Dame, beating the Fighting Irish 86-78 in South Bend, Ind., on Wednesday night.
Notre Dame fought back from multiple 10-point deficits to trail just 79-76 with 58 seconds remaining in the game. Jeremy Dent-Smith, who had 21 points off the bench and went 5-for-6 from beyond the arc, put up seven points from that point on to preserve the win.
AJ Rohosy had 11 points and a team-leading five rebounds for the Cardinal (19-11, 8-9 Atlantic Coast Conference), who have won three straight games. Stanford shot 57% from the field and 52% from 3-point range on Wednesday.
Reserve Jalen Haralson posted a team-high 19 points and went 13-for-15 from the free-throw line for the Fighting Irish (13-17, 4-13). Cole Certa added 17 points and two steals, and Braeden Shrewsberry had 14 points and five rebounds.
Brady Koehler posted eight points early to give Notre Dame a 9-6 lead with 3:26 into the game. Okorie led the push for Stanford, and 3-point shots from Benny Gealer and Dent-Smith made it 18-13 with 13:04 remaining. Both teams traded off taking the lead, but Okorie hit a 3-pointer to punctuate a 12-3 run for Stanford to make it 38-28 with 6:43 remaining. The Cardinal led by as many as 10 points with a minute left to play and took a 45-37 lead into halftime.
Stanford went 3:55 without a field goal, and Notre Dame cut the deficit to 55-51 with 11:58 to play on a 3-pointer by Certa. Aidan Cammann ended the drought, and the Cardinal took a 61-51 lead with 10:29 left to play. Dent-Smith’s shot from beyond the arc helped Stanford preserve the advantage, which was 67-58 with 7:43 remaining. Okorie added to his point total to give Stanford a 75-65 lead with 3:34 left on the clock.
