Braedon Shrewsberry scored 18 of 25 points in the 2nd half and JR Konieczny added 15 as the Irish men’s basketball team snapped a 5-game losing streak by defeating Syracuse 69-64 Saturday afternoon at Purcell Pavilion in the ACC opener.

“It was a battle–battle of wills and different guys stepped up on each side,” Irish head coach Micah Shrewsberry said after the game. “Credit to them but proud of our guys for digging one out down the stretch. We needed to be in a close game. We needed to win a close game so our guys could build some of that belief back.”

Konieczny, a Saint Joseph High School graduate, had his best game of the season scoring 13 of his 15 points in the 1st half as the Irish led 30-26 at the half. Shrewsberry took over in the 2nd half, including four 3 pointers in the 2nd half. He finished with six trifectas for the game.

The 3-point shooting was a major difference in this one. While the Irish were 8-22 from beyond the arc, Syracuse missed all nine of its attempts.

Tae Davis finished with 15 points while Kebba Njie scored all 9 of his points in the 2nd half for Notre Dame. Njie also grabbed 9 rebounds.

The win comes as the Irish were spirally with five straight losses with star Markus Burton out injured.

Now 5-5 overall on the season, Notre Dame will host Dartmouth Wednesday before getting 11 days off.