No. 8 Notre Dame Holds On To Beat No. 16 UConn 70-67
STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Ben Hansbrough scored 21 points despite fouling out with over 8 minutes left and No. 8 Notre Dame held off Kemba Walker and No. 16 Connecticut 70-67 on Saturday.
Walker scored 34 points but missed a 3-point attempt with 8 seconds left and UConn trailing 69-67. Donnell Beverly also fumbled away a pass just before time ran out.
Carleton Scott and Tyrone Nash each had 13 points for the Fighting Irish (25-5, 14-4), who kept alive their hopes for a share of the Big East title. They closed the regular season with four straight wins and have won 11 of 12 overall.
UConn (22-9, 9-9), which has lost four of five, will have to play Tuesday in the opening round of the conference tournament.
Notre Dame equaled the most conference wins in school history, matching the 2007-08 team. It entered one back of Pittsburgh for the top spot in the Big East, but already had secured a double bye for next week's tournament.
Hansbrough hit his first seven shots before missing a jumper six minutes into the second half. But two minutes later, with Notre Dame up 54-46, he picked up his fourth foul guarding Walker.
He came back in with 8:34 left and fouled out 10 seconds later with his team up 60-52, pushing Shabazz Napier with his shoulder while trying to get free on offense.
That sent the crowd into a frenzy and UConn scored the next 13, part of a 15-0 run. A steal and layup by Napier gave UConn a 61-60 lead with 5:41 left.
The Huskies led 65-60 before Notre Dame responded. Tim Abromaitis put the Irish back in front 67-65 and the Irish held off UConn the rest of the way.
Abromaitis had 11 points for the Irish, who had lost seven straight at Connecticut.
