Tip o’ the tournament to the Irish.
No. 6 Notre Dame rallied in the final minute to upend No. 14 Stephen F. Austin’s upset bid at the Barclays Center Sunday afternoon and, on a tip-in from the unlikeliest candidate, earned a trip back to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 for the second straight season.
Irish point guard Demetrius Jackson (18 points) missed a layup off the side of the backboard in the final seconds, and forward Zach Auguste (16 points; 15 rebounds) missed his ensuing tip attempt. The ball then ricocheted to Notre Dame forward Rex Pflueger, a bouncy freshman from California. He reacted instinctually to tip in the game-winner with 1.5 seconds left.
The scoreboard glowed: Notre Dame 76, SFA 75.
“Are you kidding me?” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. “Are you freaking kidding me? That was unbelievable. God, that was fun.” WATCH: NOTRE DAME GUARD STARES CREEPILY AT CBS REPORTER Elsa/Getty Images Rex Pflueger is at the center of Notre Dame’s NCAA Tournament win over Stephen F. Austin at Barclays Center on Sunday as his tip-in sends the Irish to the Sweet 16.
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Pflueger had been scoreless in the game prior to that basket. The putback was only his second shot, and completed a hurried turnaround by the Irish, who had led by as many as seven points before the Lumberjacks chopped away at the deficit and took the lead. Pflueger turned the ax on the upstarts with his final effort, capping Notre Dame’s 6-0 run to end the game.
“I saw the ball coming off and I just attacked it,” Pflueger said. “Luckily, it went in.”
The Irish will travel to Philadelphia to face No. 7 Wisconsin Friday at 7:27 p.m.
Notre Dame, which lost to Kentucky in the final seconds of its Elite 8 matchup last season, is one of six ACC teams still alive.
“My pregame speech was: we have our March Madness Mojo back,” Brey said. “I saw it in the second half against Michigan Friday night. We had that look, ‘We gonna get it somehow.’ ” NCAA TOURNEY: FOLLOW THE MADNESS WITH OUR LIVE BRACKET Al Bello/Getty Images The Cinderella ride is over for Thomas Walkup and Stephen F. Austin.
Notre Dame needed every basket in fending off the Lumberjacks. Stephen F. Austin forward Thomas Walkup (21 points) was everywhere once again, pushing the fast break and slipping past defenders to the rim. He showed up on defense, as well, blocking Notre Dame wing V.J. Beachem’s jumper down the stretch. Still, Walkup could not convert a layup prior to Notre Dame’s game-winning sequence.
“I have the utmost respect,” Brey said. “I don’t think we’ve played a guy with a better feel in a number of years. He really picks on guys.”
It was the first loss for the Lumberjacks since Dec. 29.
“I think we proved we belong,” Lumberjacks coach Brad Underwood said. “Stephen F. Austin is here to stay.” FOLLOW THE DAILY NEWS SPORTS ON FACEBOOK. “LIKE” US HERE. New York Daily News Luck is with the Irish as a last-second tip sends Notre Dame into the Sweet Sixteen.
Underwood’s men frustrated the Irish all game. If it wasn’t Ty Charles burying a deep jumper, it was Clide Geffrard making his way to the rim.
Demetrious Floyd, a gadfly, flourished with back-to-back three-pointers down the stretch. The second tied the game at 64-64. SFA then took a 66-64 lead the next time down before Notre Dame tied it at 66-66. Back and forth it went, with the Lumberjackets going up 75-70 before Notre Dame’s last-gasp rally.
At game’s end, the Irish rushed the court in celebration. Brey threw his arms in the air.
“Remember when they told Rocky, ‘Give them a good show?’ ” Brey said in a back hallway afterward. Tags: rex plueger , demetrius jackson , zach auguste , mike brey , thomas walkup , notre dame fighting irish , stephen f austin lumberjacks , college football , march madness