Notre Dame Fighting Irish at California Golden Bears
· NCAA Men's BasketballDai Dai Ames' four-point play in final seconds lifts Cal to 72-71 victory over Notre Dame
Ames' heroics also included a 3-pointer with 11 seconds remaining that cut Notre Dame's lead to 69-68. The junior made 9 of 16 shots — 4 of 9 from beyond the arc.
Chris Bell had 15 points and Justin Pippen scored 14 for the Golden Bears (13-2, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference). Lee Dort had 11 rebounds.
Braeden Shrewsberry sank five 3-pointers and scored 21 to pace the Fighting Irish (10-5, 1-1). Shrewsberry was 6 for 6 at the free-throw line, while his teammates made 10 of 20. Jalen Haralson had 17 points and Cole Certa made three 3-pointers and scored 16 off the bench. Carson Towt had 15 rebounds to go with eight points.
Certa hit a 3-pointer to give the Fighting Irish their largest lead at 25-13 with 8:36 left before halftime. Semetri Carr's only basket of the half was a 3-pointer with two seconds left, cutting the Golden Bears' deficit to 31-27 at the break.
Pippen hit a 3-pointer to finish a 17-11 run at the start of the second half and Cal moved ahead 44-42 — its first lead since 5-2 — with 14:13 left to play.
The Bears played with a lead until Certa hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Irish a 65-63 lead with 3:10 remaining.
The Irish beat the visiting Bears 112-110 in four overtimes in March — their first matchup as ACC rivals.
Notre Dame: Hosts Clemson on Jan. 10.
How can I watch Notre Dame vs. California?
Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 71 - 72 |
| 2nd 0:00 | End of 2nd half | 71 - 72 |
| 2nd 0:00 | California Deadball Team Rebound. | 71 - 72 |
| 2nd 0:00 | Braeden Shrewsberry misses 25-foot three point jumper | 71 - 72 |
| 2nd 0:02 | Notre Dame Timeout | 71 - 72 |
Statistics
ND |
CAL |
|
|---|---|---|
| 22-55 | FG | 26-64 |
| 40 | Field Goal % | 41 |
| 11-31 | 3PT | 11-39 |
| 35 | Three Point % | 28 |
| 16-26 | FT | 9-12 |
| 62 | Free Throw % | 75 |
| 44 | Rebounds | 34 |
| 12 | Offensive Rebounds | 9 |
| 32 | Defensive Rebounds | 25 |
| 14 | Assists | 13 |
| 0 | Steals | 4 |
| 1 | Blocks | 1 |
| 7 | Turnovers | 3 |
| 0 | Team Turnovers | 0 |
| 7 | Total Turnovers | 3 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Points Off Turnovers | 11 |
| 10 | Fast Break Points | 13 |
| 18 | Points in Paint | 24 |
| 15 | Fouls | 21 |
| 12 | Largest Lead | 7 |
| 5 | Lead Changes | 5 |
| 62 | Percent Led | 34 |
Game Information
Location: Berkeley, CA
Attendance: 5,158 | Capacity:
2025-26 Atlantic Coast Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duke | 17-1 | - | 35-3 |
| Virginia | 15-3 | 2 | 30-6 |
| Miami | 13-5 | 4 | 26-9 |
| North Carolina | 12-6 | 5 | 24-9 |
| Clemson | 12-6 | 5 | 24-11 |
| Louisville | 11-7 | 6 | 24-11 |
| NC State | 10-8 | 7 | 20-14 |
| Florida State | 10-8 | 7 | 18-15 |
| California | 9-9 | 8 | 22-12 |
| Stanford | 9-9 | 8 | 20-12 |
| Virginia Tech | 8-10 | 9 | 19-13 |
| SMU | 8-10 | 9 | 20-14 |
| Wake Forest | 7-11 | 10 | 18-17 |
| Syracuse | 6-12 | 11 | 15-17 |
| Pittsburgh | 5-13 | 12 | 13-20 |
| Notre Dame | 4-14 | 13 | 13-18 |
| Boston College | 4-14 | 13 | 11-20 |
| Georgia Tech | 2-16 | 15 | 11-20 |


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