Jerian Grant beat Duke on the Irish's home court Wednesday night, and then he kept his own classmates off of it.
Notre Dame's senior point guard made a major statement in his bid for college basketball's Wooden and Naismith Player of the Year Awards, with an absurdly good 23-point, six-rebound, 12-assist, three-steal, and two-block stat line in a 77-73 win over the visiting Blue Devils.
Jerian Grant, Jabari Parker Both Wooden Award Contenders
Grant was absolutely everywhere in the final minute of the game. First, with just 1:08 left on the clock, he managed to picked up a loose ball and heave into the goal as ND's shot clock expired. Later on he found teammate Steve Vasturia wide-open in the corner with 21 seconds left. Vasturia buried the shot to put the Irish up four. Grant capped off his stellar game with a block on Duke's Quinn Cook on the very next possession, securing the victory.
"He loves the moment," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said, per ESPN.com. "He's such a bright-lights, big-stage guy. He is really clutch."
Watch highlights of Grant's amazing performance below:
As the game's final buzzer sounded, the Notre Dame student section appeared ready to storm the court. Grant, however, was able to dissuade the crowd from taking the hardwood with a single motion of his hands.
It was probably the right decision on Grant's part. Not only is a court-storming often an issue of safety for players and fans alike, but also a no. 8 home team beating a no. 4 road team really isn't that much of an upset in the grand scheme of college basketball.
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