The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (19-8, 10-3) pushed their win streak to 8 games on Saturday night, beating the Villanova Wildcats (11-14, 4-9) in a wild overtime win.
Notre Dame started the game poorly, going from up 10-5 to down 10-18 almost 6 minutes later. Villanova showed no mercy and continued to pile onto their advantage, at one point leading by 20 points, and the game entered the half with a 23-39 score and a 16-point Notre Dame deficit.
The Fighting Irish began to fight furiously to come back in the second half. They finally tied the game up with less than two minutes remaining and the clock hit zero with the game tied 62-62. A pair of three-pointers from G Jerian Grant and G/F Pat Connaughton gave the Irish a crucial lead with 46 seconds left, and Notre Dame finished their improbable comeback with a 74-70 win.
Connaughton (21 PTS, 8 REB) and F Jack Cooley (18 PTS, 13 REB) played major roles in the comeback, helping Notre Dame climb to a tie with the second place Marquette Golden Eagles (21-5, 10-3).
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