Markus Burton scored a career-high 32 points to help Notre Dame overcome a 14-point second-half deficit and earn a 97-94 double-overtime victory against Boston College on Wednesday night in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Notre Dame (11-13, 5-8 Atlantic Coast Conference) took the lead for good on a Kebba Njie basket that made it 95-94 with 16.9 seconds left. After two Burton free throws, Boston College’s Donald Hand Jr. missed a desperation 3-point attempt at the buzzer.
Tae Davis added 20 points for Notre Dame, which ended a three-game losing streak. Njie finished the game with seven points and 12 rebounds, while Braeden Shrewsberry contributed 16 points.
BC (10-14, 2-11) received a season-high 21 points from Chad Venning before he fouled out on Njie’s layup in the second overtime. Hand finished with 17 and Roger McFarlane added 15 points with nine rebounds. Dion Brown also scored 15 as the Eagles lost their third straight game.
The hosts took their first double-digit lead when Venning’s three-point play made it 50-38 with 18:20 left. BC stretched its lead to 55-41 on Hand’s three-point play with 15:42 remaining.
The Fighting Irish cut the Eagles’ lead to four points, 72-68, on a Burton layup with 5:59 left, but BC scored the next four points to extend its advantage to 76-68. Notre Dame responded with an 8-0 run and the game was tied following a Davis layup with 1:36 remaining.
Burton made two free throws to tie the game, 80-80, with 26 seconds to play in regulation, and the game went to overtime after Venning missed BC’s only shot on the ensuing possession.
Notre Dame led 85-82 in overtime, but Hand hit a 3-pointer that tied the contest with 1:09 left. That ended the scoring in the first five-minute frame.
Brown’s layup with 1:20 remaining in the second overtime put the Eagles ahead by one before Njie’s go-ahead score just over a minute later.
BC shot 60.7 percent from the field in the first half and led 41-35 at halftime. The Eagles made 7 of 12 3-point attempts in the opening 20 minutes.
Notre Dame won both regular season meetings against BC. The Fighting Irish prevailed 78-60 on Jan. 13 in South Bend, Ind.
–Field Level Media
