Notre Dame entered the NIL-driven Player Era tournament with an opportunity to rebound from a surprising loss to Elon.
The Fighting Irish opened the tournament against Ace Bailey, Dylan Harper, and a Rutgers team trying to rebound from a shocking loss to Kennesaw State.
Notre Dame was competitive all night in the 85-84 loss, but the biggest news coming out of the game was Markus Burton’s injury. Rutgers’ 270-pound center Emmanuel Ogbole landed on Burton’s leg. Burton didn’t return after the injury.
Without Burton, the Fighting Irish spent most of the half in the lead behind Braeden Shrewsberry’s 12 points. Harper matched Shrewberry’s first-half effort. Harper’s 13 first-half points helped Rutgers cut a 10-point Notre Dame lead to one by halftime.
Shrewsberry cooled off in the second half, but Tae Davis and Chase Chebuhar made up for it. Davis was more aggressive when going to the basket, which led to six free-throw attempts in the second half. Chebuhar spaced the floor, going 3-4 from the floor and 2-3 from three in the second half.
Unfortunately for Notre Dame, Harper didn’t slow down in the second half. The son of former NBA player Ron Harper Sr. went for 15 in the second half, frequently knifing into the lane, either finishing or setting up his teammates.
But Notre Dame stayed close, and with 8.4 seconds left, Matt Allocco hit a three-pointer to tie the game. The Fighting Irish forced Harper into an airball on the final possession.
In overtime, both Allocco and Harper were the focal points on offense. Harper continued to drive to the basket and get to the free-throw line. At the same time, Allocco hit three three-pointers in the final 41 seconds, including the game-tying three with 15 seconds left, but Harper made what proved to be the game-winning free throw when Notre Dame’s Cole Certa mistakingly fouled with the game tied.
Allocco missed a three with one second left.
