How did Notre Dame basketball fare in marquee home game against Missouri?

SOUTH BEND —  They needed this one.

They got this one.

Cole Certa hit a deep 3 somewhere near Elkhart with 16.2 seconds remaining and the shot clock under five seconds to give the Irish a 72-69 lead in a game Notre Dame won 76-71, at Purcell Pavilion. Markus Burton led the Irish with 18 points. Certa added 14 off the bench, 11 in the second half.

Burton gave the Irish a 69-67 lead with two free throws and 53.9 seconds remaining. Swingman Jacob Crews tied it at 69 with two free throws with 44.4 seconds remaining,

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Having lost three of five coming in, Notre Dame needed this one for myriad reasons. This was one of the (too) few non-conference home games, not just this season but in the first three under head coach Micah Shrewsberry.

Two teams from power conferences, you want to do anything this season, you have to win this one if you’re Notre Dame.

Notre Dame was down four and maybe wondering when backup guard Logan Imes stepped into a 3-pointer to pull the Irish within one, 65-64, with exactly three minutes left. That second half featured more swings than an indoor batting cage in February.

Down by as many as 12 in the first half, the Irish used a heavy helping of Markus Burton and Jalen Haralson, with some Braeden Shrewsberry thrown in, to go up two with 13:19 left. The lead would extend to seven before the visitors settled in and ripped off 11 unanswered to go up four with 8:25 left.

Haralson fouled out with 13 points and 6:07 remaining, which made it very difficult for the Irish to generate offense. Still a Certa 3 from in front of the Irish bench tied it at 67 with 94 seconds left.

Notre Dame rarely had an answer for Mark Mitchell during his two seasons at Duke and didn’t have many Tuesday. Mitchell bullied his way to a game-high 13 points in the first half and finished with 26.

The Irish are back on the road to close the week with a rare visit to the state of Texas and a game Friday at TCU.

Notre Dame registered a victory of sorts in the first half by jumping to a six-point lead less than five minutes in. It was a small win in that the Irish struggled to make shots from the start in Las Vegas, going 0-for-7 against both Kansas and Houston before tumbling into early deficits.

The Irish played hard early, but that didn’t turn into much of anything. Notre Dame was down 10 late in the first half when Coach Shrewsberry was assessed a technical foul. Shrewsberry wasn’t happy with the whistles in the first half, especially not after the home team was called for nine fouls while Missouri was whistled for six. Free throws are shot at the seventh. Missouri shot 13 free throws the first 20 minutes; Notre Dame shot four.

“We can’t get to the bonus (at home), we might as well played this one at Missouri!!” Shrewsberry barked.

With the head coach running hot, the Irish were down by 12 — their largest deficit — after the Shrewsberry technical before five unanswered closed the half and brought Notre Dame back within seven.

Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at [email protected]

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Did Notre Dame basketball finally break through in ACC/SEC Challenge?