FINAL: Notre Dame defeats IU, 79-72, in Crossroads Classic

Dec 14, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Hoosiers forward Jeremy Hollowell (33) scrambles for a loose ball against Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Jerian Grant (22) and forward Tom Knight (25) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the Indiana Hoosiers in the Crossroads Classic Saturday afternoon. The youth of IU was unable to overcome the experience of the Irish as they fell 79-72.

The Hoosiers put up a good fight, but their inablity to execute down the stretch ultimately doomed the talented IU squad. Notre Dame was able to get to the foul line regularly and the experienced frontcourt dominated the paint.

Jerian Grant led all scorers with 23 points. The Irish senior also had eight assists and managed to take 11 free throws.

Garrick Sherman, complete with creepy beard, dominated the low block and took IU freshman phenom Noah Vonleh to school. Sherman was 6-of-7 for 16 points. He also had two blocks, two steals, and five rebounds.

Vonleh was held to just eight points and five rebounds. He was limited due to foul trouble and his ineffectiveness in the post.

Pat Connaughton continued to play at a high level for the Irish with 14 points and eight rebounds.

IU senior Will Sheehey finally had a solid outing, but failed to hit key shots in crunch time. Sheehey led IU with 22 points, but also turned the ball over five times.

Senior Evan Gordon, who had been on fire recently, continued scoring in the double digits but connected on just 3-of-10 field goals. The good news was that they were all from the three point line. He finished with 11 points for Indiana.

Point guard Yogi Ferrell did a little bit of everything for the Hoosiers Saturday afternoon. He had 13 points, four assists, and two rebounds. Defensively, the sophomore finished with five steals and a block.

The Hoosiers took, and hit more shots than the Irish, but Notre Dame held a 10 point advantage at the free throw line. It was a nice rebound win for a Notre Dame team that suffered a bad loss at home earlier this week.

Up next for the Irish is a trip to Madison Square Garden to face No. 3 Ohio State on December 21st.

For the Hoosiers, they’ll welcome Nicholls State to Assembly Hall on December 20th.

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