Notre Dame gets on the board in the road victory column after taking over in the closing minutes in Chestnut Hill.
In a season that went off the rails weeks ago, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (14-12, 5-8) finally got a big monkey off their collective back.
The Irish traveled to Chestnut Hill on Sunday night to take on the Boston College Eagles (6-19, 2-10) and notched their first ever victory on the road in ACC play.
Notre Dame won their second straight game without freshman guard Demetrius Jackson, who head coach Mike Brey is keeping away from basketball for a few days to get his academics back in good standing. Jackson, according to the broadcast, is expected to rejoin the team at practice tomorrow.
The Irish were led by captains Pat Connaughton (17 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists) and Eric Atkins (16 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists). They also received a major lift from big men Zach Auguste and Tom Knight, each of whom tallied 10 points. Knight came up with a career-high 9 rebounds off the bench as well.
Olivier Hanlan led the Eagles with 18 points, who also got a double-double effort from junior forward Ryan Anderson (11 points, 11 rebounds).
Though a victory over the last-place team in the conference is hardly anything to write home about, Notre Dame was able to make a little program history and keep some distance from that .500 mark, which may be important for inclusion into any postseason tournament. The Irish, who have been struggling their way through most of this season, will take it.
Notre Dame visits the Miami Hurricanes (12-13, 3-9) on Wednesday night at 9pm EST in what is a winnable game, hopefully with Demetrius Jackson back in the lineup. The Irish will then stay on the road as they visit 17th-ranked Virginia at 2pm EST as they look to avenge their home court loss from a couple weeks back.
