SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — London Perrantes had his flu game working Tuesday night for No. 12 Virginia.
Perrantes didn’t let an illness slow him down, hitting five 3-pointers and finishing with 22 points to help the Cavaliers pull away late for a 71-54 win at No. 14 Notre Dame, their 10th straight over the Irish.
“I had a little fever this morning, basically ate like half a meal today,” Perrantes said, leaning against a block wall and clearly looking tired.
The fatigue began to set in during the second half, but Perrantes battled through, knocking down two big 3-pointers over a Notre Dame zone, the second of which pushed Virginia’s lead up to double digits with just under 4 minutes to play.
“London was really good,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. “I know he was tired, but as you expect from a good player like he is and the experience he has, we rode him hard and he delivered.”
Isaiah Wilkins finished with 13 points and nine rebounds, and Devon Hall added 11 points and nine boards for the Cavaliers (16-3, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who improved to 4-1 on the road in league play and inched one-half game closer to conference leaders Florida State and North Carolina.
Bonzie Colson scored 20 points to lead Notre Dame (17-4, 6-2). Steve Vasturia added 14.
Coming off a career-high 30 points in Saturday’s win over Syracuse, Irish forward V.J. Beachem went 1 of 10 from the field and finished with just three points.
“We know how good of shooters they are,” Perrantes said. “We were just trying to keep them from getting into the paint and then getting open shots. I felt like we did a good job of keeping our man in front of us.”
Colson had 14 points by halftime but the ACC’s leading rebounder at 10.9 per game didn’t have a single board in the first 20 minutes and finished with only three.
Virginia controlled the glass, 38-22, including 10 on the offensive end that led to 15 second-chance points.
“They outplayed us,” Colson said. “Have to get back to the fundamentals of boxing out, that’s what it comes down to.”
BIG PICTURE
Virginia: Bennett is 6-0 all-time against Notre Dame, including a 61-41 win as coach of Washington State in the 2008 NCAA Tournament. In five ACC games, the Irish are averaging just 56 points per game against Virginia.
“They’re so good offensively, and they just looked a little flat tonight,” Bennett said. “You just try to make them earn it every time.”
Notre Dame: Virginia has owned the Irish since they joined the ACC four years ago, winning by an average of more than 13 points. Four days after snapping a four-game losing streak against Syracuse, the Irish failed to do the same against the Cavaliers, and haven’t beaten them since their first meeting in 1981.
“Their system is hard to deal with for us and I think a lot of people have had a hard time dealing with them,” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. “I’m glad we don’t play them twice. They have not been a good matchup for us and we take our hat off to them because they’re really good.”
UNEXPECTED CONTRIBUTION
Freshman Ty Jerome, who played just 6 minutes in Saturday’s win over Georgia Tech, gave Virginia a boost late. Jerome knocked down two 3-pointers and hit a runner in the lane, all in the last 8 minutes to finish with a career-high eight points.
“The biggest moment was when Ty came in and made some plays,” Perrantes said. “I think Ty was definitely the game changer for us.”
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Virginia faces two ranked teams this week, with No. 1 Villanova on tap next, and could make a move back into the top 10 depending on the outcome of that one. The Irish need a road win at Georgia Tech to prevent a slide back toward the 20s.
UP NEXT
Virginia: The Cavaliers step out of conference to face No. 1 Villanova at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center on Sunday.
Notre Dame: The Irish head to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech on Saturday before hosting No. 17 Duke next Monday.
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