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Grant leads Notre Dame over Clemson

Mar 8, 2015 - 1:33 AM South Bend, IN (SportsNetwork.com) - Jerian Grant put on one final show at Purcell Pavilion, as the star senior poured in 19 points and handed out eight assists as No. 12 Notre Dame topped Clemson 81-67 on Saturday.

Grant received a standing ovation in his final home game, the fans recognizing his importance to a Notre Dame (26-5, 14-4 ACC) squad that heads in the ACC Tournament next week as a No. 3 seed.

He called the sendoff "a dream."

"We are 100 percent focused on getting wins in the postseason," Grant said. "We know we can do it, too. We are stressing to the team to play our game. We are a top-10 team in the country so if we play our game, we will be there in the end."

Zach Auguste also scored 19 points, while Demetrius Jackson and Steve Vasturia added 14 and 12 points, respectively, for the victors.

Jaron Blossomgame finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Landry Nnoko totaled 19 and nine for the Tigers (16-14, 8-10), who dropped four of their final five regular season games.

"They played great tonight," Clemson coach Brad Brownell said of Notre Dame. "Their guys were sharing the basketball as they always do. For whatever reason I just didn't feel our team was locked in defensively as we normally are. They pass the ball so well that they make you pay for every mistake you make."

Notre Dame never trailed and went ahead by double digits, 36-25, after an Auguste layup capped a 10-2 run late in the first half.

Clemson accounted for six of the eight points scored over the final three minutes to pull within 38-31, but the Irish began pulling away immediately after the break.

Notre Dame scored on three straight possessions to stretch its lead to 45-33 and went ahead by 17 with just over 14 minutes to play.

Bonzie Colson's emphatic putback slam with just over five minutes left punctuated the rout.

Game Notes

Notre Dame tied a school record for conference wins in a season ... The Irish finished with a 17-2 record at home ... The Irish only committed four turnovers ... Clemson won the rebounding battle 41-28.