Tae Davis scores 21, Markus Burton has 20 and Notre Dame edges Pittsburgh 76-72
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Tae Davis scored 21 points, Markus Burton added 20 and Notre Dame defeated Pittsburgh 76-72 on Saturday.
Neither team led by more than five points in the first 33 minutes and the score was tied at 54 with seven minutes left in the second half. Burton scored seven points and Davis added four in an 11-2 run that gave Notre Dame a 65-56 lead with about four minutes remaining. The Fighting Irish made seven of their last nine shots but got off only one shot in the final two minutes, committing two turnovers and making several trips to the free-throw line.
Pitt got within 74-72 with eight seconds left but J.R. Konieczny made the last two of Notre Dame’s eight free throws in the final 37 seconds to close out the win.
Cameron Corhen scored 12 of Pittsburgh’s first 21 points in the first half and the Panthers led by two with 7 1/2 minutes remaining. Neither team led by more than three points the rest of the half and the score was tied at 30 at halftime.
Cole Certa scored 12 points and was the only player to score for Notre Dame in a 3 1/2-minute stretch midway through the second half. Konieczny added 10 points. Davis made 8 of 11 shots.
Ishmael Leggett had 21 points, Corhen 20, Jaland Lowe 13 and Guillermo Diaz Graham 11 for the Panthers (16-11, 7-9 ACC).
Notre Dame (12-15, 6-10) has a five-game home winning streak in the series, dating to Pitt’s last win 86-82 on Jan. 9, 2016.
Pittsburgh hosts Georgia Tech on Tuesday.
Notre Dame visits No. 18 Clemson on Wednesday.
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