CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Reece Beekman scored 21 points, Jacob Groves had 18 and Virginia beat Notre Dame 65-53 on Wednesday night, extending the nation’s-best home winning streak to 22 games.
Isaac McKneely added 11 points for the Cavaliers (16-5, 7-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who have won five in a row. They never trailed in avenging a 76-54 loss on Dec. 30 — their worst loss in a conference game since 2017.
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Markus Burton had 17 points and Braeden Shrewsberry 16 for the Fighting Irish (7-14, 2-8), but no one else scored more than five. Notre Dame lost for the ninth time in as many visits to John Paul Jones Arena.
The Irish came in with the second-stingiest defense in the ACC, allowing 65.3 points, and hit that mark, but allowed the Cavaliers to connect on 13 of 24 3-point attempts. Groves hit six of those, Beekman had four and McKneely three.
The Cavaliers outscored Notre Dame 20-8 over the final eight minutes of the first half and led 38-23 at the break. The Irish never got closer than eight after halftime.
Virginia plays at Clemson on Saturday. Notre Dame stays on the road and plays at Pittsburgh, also on Saturday.