Notre Dame escapes with 55-54 victory over Pittsburgh in 1st round of ACC Tournament

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Nikita Konstantynovskyi scored with a tip-in in the final minute and Tae Davis hit 1 of 2 free throws with 0.5 seconds left after a controversial foul to help Notre Dame rally for a 55-54 victory over Pittsburgh on Tuesday in the first round of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.

Tied at 54-all, Notre Dame inbounded with 19.2 seconds left. Markus Burton dribbled down the clock until about five seconds were left and drove to his right for a contested shot that came up short. Davis grabbed the offensive rebound, but his shot rolled off the rim as time expired. A foul was called on Zack Austin trying to prevent the putback and, after a review to see if the buzzer had sounded, Davis made the first of two free throws. He missed the second and Jaland Lowe’s three-quarter-court heave came up short.

The 12th-seeded Fighting Irish (15-17) will play No. 5 seed North Carolina in the second round on Wednesday. The Tar Heels beat the Fighting Irish 74-73 on the road in the only matchup during the regular season.

Davis had 11 points to lead Notre Dame. Konstantynovskyi totaled 10 points and nine rebounds. Burton had 10 points, four steals and six of the Irish’s 17 turnovers.

Lowe scored 17 on 6-for-18 shooting to lead the 13th-seeded Panthers (17-15). Cameron Corhen scored 10.

Konstantynovskyi had six points and five rebounds in the first half to help Notre Dame take a 25-22 lead at the break. Lowe had nine points for Pitt. The Fighting Irish shot 37% from the floor and missed 13 of 16 from 3-point range. The Panthers shot 28.6% and missed 10 of 12 from beyond the arc.

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