Notre Dame’s Tae Davis missed a potential game-winning tip-in, but Pittsburgh’s Zack Austin was whistled for a foul with less than one-second remaining to help Davis and the Irish defeat the favored Panthers on the resulting free throw, 55-54, at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center Tuesday afternoon in the opening game of the Athletic Coast Conference Tournament.
With the victory, Notre Dame advances to take on North Carolina (20-12; 13-7) Wednesday at 2:30 ET, while Pittsburgh’s season ends on a highly questionable foul call from official Tony Henderson.
The contest was competitive throughout, but far from well-played, with both teams missing at least 80 percent of their combined 42 three-point field goal attempts and likewise accounting for 28 turnovers including a whopping 17 by head coach Micah Shrewsberry’s Irish.
Notre Dame shot just 39.6 percent from the floor and was led by Davis’s 11 points while Markus Burton and starting center Nikita Konstantynovskyi added 10 apiece— Burton missing 10 of his 14 field goal attempts while Konstantynovskyi hit on all four of his shots to go with a game-high nine rebounds.
Davis and Burton combined to go 7-for-24 from the floor; 0-6 from long range with nine turnovers between them, but Davis came through in the end, hitting his first of two free throws before intentionally missing the second to force a a three-quarter court heave by Pittsburgh to conclude the contest.
Pittsburgh head coach Jeff Capel left the teams’ handshake line to corral the game’s leading scorer, Jaland Lowe, who was berating the official (Tony Henderson) as the latter exited the court.
“Really hated the way that it ended,” said Capel. “I’ve been coaching for 25 years–the worst way I’ve ever seen to end a ball game. I still can’t believe it. Shocked at how it ended for us. My guys played hard, fought, put ourselves in a position to win and unfortunately we came up short.”
With the score tied at 54-54, it was Lowe who stepped on his own baseline for a turnover with 20 seconds remaining, providing Notre Dame its chance to win in regulation. The Irish ran the clock to under five seconds before Burton drove to his right, but missed badly on his heavily-contested fading jump shot.
Austin was subsequently whistled for his game-deciding personal foul when his outstretched hand made contact with Davis who was crashing the boards for an attempted put-back—one he missed strong off the glass and rim.
“I’m just happy I got to play for a coach like him and my guy right here (Lowe) and all my teammates,” offered a despondent Austin, a senior, post-game. “At least I’ve got those guys, man.”
Said Lowe of the frustrating finish, “I’m in disbelief. I’m hurt. Nobody should have to go out like this.”
IRISH IN CHARGE EARLY
The 12th-seeded Irish led for just shy 26 minutes to open the contest before Pittsburgh’s Cameron Corhen hit a jump hook to claim a 32-31 Panthers advantage near the 14- minute mark of the second stanza. The contest took a competitive turn thereafter, with the teams combining for 10 second half lead changes and seven ties after seeing neither of either in the first half.
Shrewsberry’s Irish, playing without starting center Kebbe Njie due to concussion protocol, finished with a 34-28 scoring advantage in the paint; 37-31 on the glass. That offset a 17-9 turnover-to-assist debacle plus 16 missed three-point shots in 20 attempts.
“Hats off to Pitt for just a hard-fought game,” said Shrewsberry. “It’s a tough way to lose there at the end in a hard-fought game…And it’s hard to say, like, for either team to accept defeat in those moments. So I completely understand what he’s going through.”
Matt Allocco finished with nine points for Notre Dame, hitting three of his six threepoint attempts. Only freshman Cole Certa made good on another for Notre Dame, now 15-17 overall.
The Panthers fell to 17-15 on the season as both teams previously finished 8-12 in regular season league action. Pittsburgh was staked as a 3.5-point favorite entering the contest.
The aforementioned Lowe led Pittsburgh with 17 points albeit on 18 shots. Only Corhen joined Lowe in double figures for Capel’s Panthers, adding 10 points on 5- for-7 shooting.
Notre Dame committed 10 turnovers in the first half, but did not trail en route to a 25-22 edge at the break.
Swingman Julian Roper added eight points for Notre Dame (4-for-10 shooting) highlighted by a hustling tip-dunk, chasing after Burton on a steal-sprint downcourt that provided the Irish a 48-47 lead with just under three minutes remaining.
The lead changed hands six times thereafter, including Davis’s single offering from the charity stripe prior to the final gun.
Said Davis of the final play, “Honestly, I was focused on the shot more than anything. Whatever happened outside of that, I was focused on the shot, trying to finish the end of the game. Competing and whatnot. But the call is the call, so…”
The ACC Network offered footage of Shrewsberry’s speech to his team post-game during which the Irish coach noted, “You earned the right for that call to matter, because of the stops that you got at the end. You needed stops and you got them. Over and over and over again.”
Seeded 13th, Pittsburgh finished its season by dropping five of its final six matchups while Notre Dame has won three straight—each by two points or fewer. The Irish lost to forthcoming foe North Carolina 74-73 in South Bend in early January, due in part to a shocking four-point play by Elliot Cadeau with four seconds remaining.
