DAYTON, Ohio — Paul Atkinson Jr.'s putback layup with 1.4 seconds left in the second overtime gave Notre Dame an 89-87 win over Rutgers in a wild First Four game Wednesday night in Dayton, Ohio.
Ron Harper Jr. tied it with a long 3-pointer with 22 seconds left in the second OT. Notre Dame's Blake Wesley then missed a shot before Atkinson grabbed the rebound and put back the winner.
Atkinson finished with 20 points, Nate Laszewski 18 and Cormac Ryan 16 to lead the Irish (23-10), who as the No. 11 seed advance to face sixth-seeded Alabama in a first-round game Friday in San Diego.
Caleb McConnell had career-high 23 points and Harper 22 for the Scarlet Knights (18-11).
Both teams shot a respectable 51% for the game.
McConnell scored 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the floor as Rutgers built a 41-36 lead at the half. He put the finishing touches on the scoring before intermission, going the length of the court and putting up a fast-break layup at the buzzer.
Rutgers went up by eight to open the second half on Harper's 3-pointer, but Notre Dame chipped away. The Irish got up by as many as five late before the game got tight again.
Geo Baker's 3-pointer tied it at 69 for Rutgers with 1:24 left. Rutgers got the ball back, but Harper and Baker both missed shots that would have given the Scarlet Knights the win in regulation.
BIG PICTURE
Notre Dame: Fought back from a halftime deficit, wouldn't go away and finally found a way to win it.
Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights played well enough to win, but didn't take advantage of chances to put away the Irish.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame advances to a first-round game Friday against No. 6 Alabama in San Diego.
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