SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Grayson Allen scored 21 points and Jayson Tatum added 19 points and a career-high 14 rebounds to help No. 21 Duke beat No. 20 Notre Dame 84-74 on Monday night.
The Blue Devils (17-5, 5-4 ACC) were beating Notre Dame for the first time since 1995, and it was their first win since the Fighting Irish joined the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Notre Dame had previously won three straight against Duke and five of the past six games before Monday night’s game.
Luke Kennard scored 16 points before fouling out for the Blue Devils, while Matt Jones also scored 16 in the win.
Amile Jefferson, who entered the game averaging 12.2 points and 9.5 rebounds, was held to just six points and four rebounds before fouling out for Duke, which was recording back-to-back wins for the first time since the first week of January.
“I think we’re growing up, I think we’re becoming tougher,” said acting head coach Jeff Capel.
“To be able to go on the road the past three days in two sold-out, hostile environments and to be able to get wins speaks volumes about our guys.”
V.J. Beachem scored 20 points for Notre Dame (17-6, 6-4), while Bonzie Colson ended with 17 points and nine rebounds for the Fighting Irish, who have lost three straight for the first time this season.
“We are getting smacked hard right now,” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. “But we’re getting smacked together.”
“I liked our five-out in the second half,” he added. “I think we’ve really got to consider starting small like we did in the second half.”
Duke shot 28-of-54 from the floor for 51.9 percent and made 23-of-24 attempts from the free throw line.
The Blue Devils also outrebounded Notre Dame 38-26, and dominated the points in the paint 36-20.
“I thought our game plan was really good,” Capel said. “We played great at the end of the Wake Forest game, and I thought we had some carry over.”
