Notre Dame claimed their third victory in their last four games Wednesday night as they held off Villanova 65-60 in Big East action at Purcell Pavilion. Four Fighting Irish scored in double figures led by freshman Cameron Biedscheid's 18 off the bench. Jack Cooley notched his almost automatic double-double with 17 points and 16 rebounds. Jerian Grant added 12 and Tom Knight chipped in 10.
The Irish have seemingly turned the tide once again after losing three of four by earning this big win over a surging Wildcat squad. Notre Dame led throughout much of the first half until Villanova took over with about four minutes left in the first half. The Wildcats extended the lead up to five on two occasions before taking a 31-29 lead into halftime.
The second half went back and forth early on with both teams exchanging the lead. The critical stretch of the game came around the eight minute mark with the Irish up by one. Biedschied buried a three to begin a Notre Dame 12-5 run giving the Irish an eight point lead. Villanova would never really threaten again though they did close to within three with 28 seconds left. Cooley made two free throws, however, with 13 seconds to go to ice the game.
With the victory, Notre Dame improves to 17-4 overall and 5-3 in the Big East. They'll be back in action Saturday when they travel to DePaul.
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