(Durham) — Cooper Flagg has been advertised as an All-American, even though he’s only a freshman. Saturday’s performance against Notre Dame didn’t hurt the cause.

Flagg set an ACC record with 42 points as #4 Duke held off a furious Notre Dame comeback down the stretch and beat the Irish, 86-78.  The loss drops the Irish to 7-9 and 1-4 in ACC play.

The Blue Devils jumped out to a 14-0 lead, but Notre Dame used 8-12 shooting from three-point range to cut the lead to 44-36 at halftime.

A Tae Davis layup closed the gap to 52-46 early in the second half, but Flagg scored Duke’s next 12 points as the Blue Devils expanded the lead.

Duke led 79-61 with four minutes left, before the Irish went on a 15-1 run. Markus Burton laid in two of his 23 points with 36 seconds remaining to close the gap to 80-76. Duke then hit four free throws down the stretch to seal the victory, raising its record to 14-2 overall and 6-0 in the ACC.

The Irish return home Monday night, facing Boston College at Purcell Pavilion.