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National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Notre Dame 69, Northeastern 65
When: 12:15 PM ET, Thursday, March 19, 2015
Where: CONSOL Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Officials: # Ed Corbett, # Michael Irving, # Bret Smith
Attendance: 15818

Notre Dame 69, Northeastern 65: Zach Auguste scored 25 points as the Fighting Irish survived the Huskies in Pittsburgh in the NCAA Tournament's round of 64.

Jerian Grant contributed 17 points and five assists as third-seeded Notre Dame (30-5) won its sixth straight game - including last weekend's ACC tournament title - and advanced to a third-round matchup with sixth-seeded Butler. Demetrius Jackson chipped in nine points and eight assists for the Irish, while Northeastern (23-12) was paced by Scott Eatherton's 18 points and eight boards.

The Irish led by 12 with less than six minutes left before Eatherton's putback with 32.5 seconds to go drew the Huskies within 67-65. Notre Dame botched the ensuing inbounds pass, but Northeastern was unable to take advantage as Quincy Ford lost the ball in the waning seconds, and Auguste made two foul shots to seal it.

Notre Dame's lead was 43-41 when Auguste scored five quick points to fuel an 11-2 run that created some separation for the Irish, who held the Huskies without a point for more than four minutes during that stretch. With about 6 1/2 minutes left, Jackson dribbled through the Northeastern defense and found Auguste for a dunk before draining a 3-pointer on the next trip to make it 63-51 with just over six minutes remaining.

The Irish initially led 31-27 at the break despite Auguste and Bonzie Colson - the only two big men in their rotation - each committing two fouls in the first 7:05. Auguste returned to score four points late in the first half and added six more points in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the second half to push the advantage to 43-32.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Grant scored nine points on 4-of-5 shooting to lead all first-half scorers. ... Notre Dame improved to 3-6 in its last nine NCAA Tournament games. On Saturday, the Irish will attempt to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2003. ... David Walker had 15 points and seven assists for the Huskies, who dominated the boards 33-17, but also committed 16 turnovers.
Top Game Performances
 
Northeastern   Notre Dame
Scott Eatherton 18 Scoring Zach Auguste 25
David Walker 7 Assists Demetrius Jackson 8
Scott Eatherton 8 Rebounds Zach Auguste 5
Scott Eatherton 4 Free Throws Made Zach Auguste 5
Zach Stahl 1 Steals Steve Vasturia 4
N/A Blocks Demetrius Jackson 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Northeastern 65 49.1 3-11 8-10 15 30 0 2 16
Notre Dame 69 57.4 2-6 13-18 19 16 4 9 7