Victory Is Sweet as Notre Dame Beats Stanford on Late Free Throws

Daimon Sweet scored 19 points, including two free throws with 26 seconds to play, as Notre Dame held off Stanford for a 64-63 victory Tuesday night.

Notre Dame (8-11) never trailed during the second half. The Irish took a 29-24 halftime lead and went on an 11-6 run to start the second half, LaPhonso Ellis scoring six points and Sweet five.

The Cardinal (13-6) pulled to 61-57 on a reverse layup by Peter Dukes with 33 seconds to play. Marcus Lollie then fouled Sweet, who made both shots and Notre Dame led, 63-57.

Dukes made a three-pointer before teammate Adam Keefe fouled Ellis, who made one of his two free throws to put the Irish ahead by 64-60 with eight seconds remaining. Lollie made a three-pointer with two seconds to play for the Cardinal.

Ellis had 16 points and 11 rebounds for Notre Dame. Dukes led Stanford with 21 points, and Keefe had 17 points and nine rebounds.

“The game wasn’t sealed until Phonz (Ellis) nailed that second shot,” Irish Coach John MacLeod said. “He was struggling, he really showed me something there.”