Jan. 17--Notre Dame hadn't won at Cameron Indoor Stadium in, well, forever.
As in never.
The Irish changed that Saturday with a 95-91 victory against the No. 9 Blue Devils thanks in large part to a career-high 31 points from Bonzie Colson, 24 more from Demetrius Jackson and a career-best 22 from Steve Vasturia.
Six players scored at least 18 points. Luke Kennard led Duke with 30 points, while Brandon Ingram added 25 and Grayson Allen 18.
The Irish have defeated the Blue Devils four times of the last five times they've played under former Duke assistant Mike Brey, including in the ACC conference tournament semifinal last season, but they were 0-7 all-time against the defending national champions at Cameron.
A 7-0 run, not in the Irish's favor, late in the first half didn't do Notre Dame any favors while it fell behind 50-45 by halftime. The Irish had Luke Kennard to thank for that. His 3-pointer and subsequent steal and layup fueled the run that ended the life of Notre Dame's only lead, which lasted 17 seconds.
Duke's 8-0 run to start the contest did little in the way of helping the Irish, either.
Jackson's layup with 5 minutes, 5 seconds left in the first half gave the Irish that 35-34 advantage that quickly vanished after Marshall Plumlee's emphatic dunk on Duke's next possession.
The Irish (12-5, 3-2) were coming off a 72-64 victory against Georgia Tech, while Duke (14-4, 3-2) had most recently fallen 69-63 at Clemson.
Duke leads the all-time series 20-5, but the Irish have won three of the last four meetings. The Blue Devils' lone victory last season against Notre Dame was a 90-60 thrashing 10 days after the Irish defeated them in South Bend, Ind.
pskrbina@tribpub.com
