The college basketball world reacted to Monday’s historic game between Notre Dame and Howard in the MLK Day Classic.
Notre Dame ventured outside of the Atlantic Coast Conference to Washington, DC to play Howard at the Burr Gymnasium on the campus of the Bison. Monday’s game marked the first time Notre Dame played on the road at a Historically Black College and University. The rare contest was nationally broadcast on FOX.
The game was three years in making and was originally scheduled to be played last year on MLK Day. But the game was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Both schools made sure the game was made up this year and the game did not disappoint. The back-and-forth action between the two came down to the wire after a relentless rally by Howard using pressuring defense.
The game ended with a frantic finish. With Notre Dame up 69-68 in the waning moments, Fighting Irish senior guard Maryland native and Gonzaga High School (DC) alum Prentiss Hubb drove down the lane for an uncontested layup with 12 seconds remaining to extend Notre Dame’s lead to 71-68.
With time running out, Howard freshman guard Elijah Hawkins (DeMatha Catholic High School) missed the game-tying three from the right wing at the buzzer. Notre Dame held on to a 71-68 win.
Here’s the reaction from the college basketball world following the thriller:
Here’s two highlights that outline the game. First the turnaround jumper from Notre Dame forward Blake Wesley that proved to be a pivotal play for the Irish.
But the Bison pushed back. Their pressure led to this thunderous alley-oop from Hawkins to Tai Bibbs.
Notre Dame were led by senior guards Dane Goodwin and Nate Laszewski who each scored 17 points. Howard was led by Steve Settle III, another DeMatha product, with a game-high 25 points.
The game came together thanks to the relationship between a pair of DeMatha grads, Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey and Howard head coach Kenny Blakeney. Their first meeting was in 2019 in South Bend and Notre Dame made sure to return the favor coming to DC.
It was a great atmosphere at the Burr. The game felt like a big game despite the current standings of Notre Dame (11-6) and Howard (6-8).
Hopefully, games like these — Power 5 schools playing on the campuses of HBCUs — will be more common in future. Notre Dame and Howard put on a thriller and had a HBCU vibe. It was a huge win all-around for college basketball.
