FINAL: UVa 71, Notre Dame 54

Virginia rode a game-high 22 points from London Perrantes and eight critical second-half points from Ty Jerome to gut out an important 71-54 win over Notre Dame on the road Tuesday night in South Bend, Indiana.

Virginia held the typically offensively proficient Irish to an offensive efficiency of .89 and a season-low 26 first-half points; Notre Dame forward Bonzie Colson went for 14 in the opening frame. A key to the Cavaliers (16-3), who were struggling at points with passing and layups, owning a 27-26 halftime was the rebounding battle; Notre Dame grabbed just one of their misses and Devon Hall had six defensive rebounds in the first 20 minutes.

Jerome’s two threes and jumper in a three-and-a-half-minute stretch in the closing stages of the game proved important in stretching the UVa lead to eight, as Notre Dame scored just once from the field, a dunk when down by 15, in the final five minutes.

Virginia closed with an offensive efficiency of 1.17 and dominated the rebounding battle 38-22.

Next up is a clash against defending national champion and top-ranked Villanova at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Sunday at 1 p.m. The game will be nationally televised on Fox.