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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Notre Dame dodges early exit in narrow win over Northeastern

Notre Dame’s Zach Auguste, right, scored 25 points to hold back Northeastern’s upset bid. (Associated Press)
Dan Gelston Associated Press

PITTSBURGH – Out of timeouts, Northeastern passed the ball five times on its final game-tying possession. Zach Stahl frantically waved his arms when he fought his way open under the basket, yet no teammate saw him.

Quincy Ford coughed up the ball one final time – and ended the Huskies’ last-gasp effort at pulling off the shocker.

Zach Auguste scored 25 points, Jerian Grant added 17 and Notre Dame dodged a threat trying to erase its futile NCAA tournament history with a 69-65 win over Northeastern on Thursday.

“I didn’t think there was any fear factor going into the game,” Northeastern coach Bill Coen said.

The third-seeded Irish (30-5) were fortunate to win by four. The Irish returned to the tournament after a one-year absence determined to build off their ACC tournament title and make a Final Four run.

The Colonial Athletic Association champion Huskies played with the 40 minutes of grit needed to avoid a crushing defeat like so many other double-digit seeds throughout tournament history.

But the Huskies (23-12) finally collapsed with sloppy play over the final minutes that ended the upset bid.

The final possession was the costliest one. After the Huskies fumbled the ball, Auguste, who made 10 of 14 shots, sealed it with two free throws.

“The ‘clutchest’ free throws of his career,” Notre Dame forward Pat Connaughton said.

The Huskies were left wondering if they could have won had they not burned their timeouts.