With [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] back in the lineup from injury, Notre Dame had enough to beat North Carolina. This was an opportunity to let a network TV audience know good things were happening in South Bend. But all of it was undone by one ill-timed foul that led to a heartbreaking 74-73 loss.
The Irish (7-7, 1-2) had trailed the Tar Heels (9-6, 2-1) by as much as 12 earlier in the game and dealt with 27 points from Ian Jackson. Yet they held a 73-70 lead with 14 seconds left.
[autotag]Matt Allocco[/autotag] found himself in the corner guarding Elliot Cadeau, who put up a 3 and was fouled by Allocco while still in the active shooting. The game-tying 3 went through, and Cadeau hit the go-ahead free throw, prompting [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] to call a timeout and draw a game-winning play with 4.8 seconds remaining.
Burton drove the length of the court and put up a layup with time set to expire. Contact may have been made against him, but it wasn’t called, and the layup missed the rim. Although [autotag]JR Konieczny[/autotag] successfully put back the rebound, time already had run out, and the Irish were left to wonder what could have been:
Burton scored 23 points off the bench in his return. [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] had 17 points, and [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] added 16.
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