Notre Dame falls to Virginia Tech in ACC Tournament
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Grant Basile scored 20 points, Justyn Mutts added 18 and Viriginia Tech rallied to beat Notre Dame 67-64 on Tuesday night in the first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.
Rodney Rice's 3-pointer and a layup from Mutts gave Virginia Tech a 63-62 advantage with 1:02 left. The game was tied 64-all when Mutts scored on a dunk, and then Rice blocked Cormac Ryan's layup attempt with 12 seconds to play.
Sean Pedulla split a pair of free throws for the Hokies with 10 seconds left. Mutts blocked Marcus Hammond's 3-pointer and Nate Laszewski missed a 3 to end it.
Pedulla added 13 points for 11th-seeded Virginia Tech (19-13), which has won six straight in the series. Hunter Cattoor had 11 points.
Marcus Hammond scored 23 points for No. 14 seed Notre Dame (11-21), which may have played its last game with coach Mike Brey, who is stepping down after 23 years at the helm. Ryan finished with 18 points.
The Fighting Irish led 58-53 with 5:35 to play, but they trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half before pulling to 32-31 with 1:01 left before the break.
The Hokies face sixth-seeded North Carolina State on Wednesday in the second round.
