Notre Dame has been playing with a chip on its shoulder lately, knowing the next loss will more or less put an end to their NCAA tournament hopes. The big story right now is not so much that it’s staying alive, but doing so in dramatic fashion. If you thought last week’s over North Carolina was exciting, try Wednesday’s 62-61 win over Boston College on for size.
The Irish (18-10, 9-8) and Eagles (13-16, 7-11) traded a total of five field goals and lead changes over the game’s final four minutes. Luckily, the Irish made the last basket at the last possible moment. Trailing, 61-60, with eight seconds left, Prentiss Hubb moved from the left side to the free-throw line, drew a double team and found T.J. Gibbs in the paint. Gibbs took the pass and, surrounded by his own pair of Eagles defenders, put the shot up and in with 0.1 seconds left to seal the thriller.
Lost in the hoopla was John Mooney’s latest double-double of 22 points and 12 rebounds. Gibbs and Nate Laszewski scored 10 apiece. Rex Pflueger provided something of a precursor to the later heroics when he stole an Eagles pass at the end of the first half and knocked in a buzzer beater from the timeline.