Notre Dame 70, Virginia Tech 63

[January 20, 2014]  SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame 70, Virginia Tech 63: Pat Connaughton tallied 21 points and eight rebounds as the host Fighting Irish held off the Hokies to end a three-game skid.

Demetrius Jackson tied his career high with 13 points and Eric Atkins added 12 for Notre Dame (11-7, 2-3 ACC). Zach Auguste gave the Irish a lift off the bench, hitting all four of his field-goal attempts for eight points.

Devin Wilson had a career-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting and dished out seven assists for Virginia Tech (8-9, 1-4), which has lost four straight. Cadarian Raines added a career-best 19 points and C.J. Barksdale contributed 12.

The Fighting Irish held the Hokies scoreless for nearly four minutes during a 9-0 spurt early in the first half and didn't trail again. They then rattled off a 10-0 run over the final 2:26 of the half — the last eight coming from Jackson — to take a 39-24 advantage into the break.

Virginia Tech surged back in the second half, hitting seven of its first eight shots and pulling within 53-51 as Will Johnston and Wilson hit back-to-back 3-pointers during a seven-point burst. Connaughton and Steve Vasturia answered with back-to-back 3s, though, and Notre Dame's lead didn't dip below five the rest of the way.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Former Notre Dame coach Digger Phelps was inducted into the school's Ring of Honor in a ceremony at halftime. … Virginia Tech F Joey Van Zegeren had a career-high six blocked shots. … Connaughton was 4-of-9 from 3-point range while the rest of the team went 5-for-19.

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