National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Notre Dame 67, Butler 64
When: 9:40 PM ET, Saturday, March 21, 2015
Where: CONSOL Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Officials: # Patrick Adams, # Joe DeRosa, # Brian O'Connell
Attendance: 18762

Notre Dame 67, Butler 64 (OT): Steve Vasturia scored a career-high 20 points as the Fighting Irish outlasted the Bulldogs in Pittsburgh to book a spot in the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16.

Jerian Grant contributed 16 points, Demetrius Jackson added 13 and Zach Auguste pulled down 13 rebounds as third-seeded Notre Dame (31-5) advanced to next week's regional semifinals in Cleveland, where it will take on No. 2 Kansas or seventh-seeded Wichita State. Pat Connaughton chipped in seven points, nine rebounds and five blocks for the Irish.

Roosevelt Jones poured in 23 points to pace the sixth-seeded Bulldogs (23-11), who also received 20 points from Andrew Chrabascz. Kameron Woods pulled down 15 rebounds and blocked three shots for Butler, which made 18-of-21 free throws but shot 33.3 percent from the field.

Each team opened overtime with four quick points before Jackson found Connaughton for a 3-pointer from the right corner, giving Notre Dame the lead for good. Vasturia's 3-pointer at the shot-clock buzzer made it 65-61 with 1:21 remaining and Grant put an exclamation point on a strong overtime session for the Irish with a nifty left-handed layup with 18.2 seconds to go, creating a 67-62 cushion.

The Irish led 41-36 with about 14 minutes to play in regulation before the Bulldogs scored 11 straight points - all by Jones and Chrabascz - to go up by six with roughly 9 1/2 minutes to go. Notre Dame responded with 12 of the next 15 points to go in front 53-50 on Auguste's putback with 4:14 remaining, but Kellen Dunham's 3-pointer evened the score at 55 with 2:57 left and neither team scored the rest of the session.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Jones scored 15 points in the first half - one more than all of his teammates combined - as Butler trailed 31-29 at the break. ... A double-dribble call on Auguste with two seconds left in regulation gave Butler two chances at the win. First, Dunham - who finished 2-of-13 from the field for eight points - had his 3-point attempt blocked by Connaughton with 0.6 seconds left. On the ensuing inbounds pass, Woods' last-ditch attempt from the lane came up short. ... Notre Dame's win helped the ACC improve to 9-0 in the tournament. North Carolina and North Carolina State locked up spots in the Sweet 16 earlier Saturday, while Duke, Virginia and Louisville try to do the same Sunday.
Top Game Performances
 
Butler   Notre Dame
Roosevelt Jones 23 Scoring Steve Vasturia 20
Alex Barlow 3 Assists Jerian Grant 5
Kameron Woods 15 Rebounds Zach Auguste 13
Andrew Chrabascz 8 Free Throws Made Steve Vasturia 6
Andrew Chrabascz 3 Steals Steve Vasturia 2
Kameron Woods 3 Blocks Pat Connaughton 5
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Butler 64 33.3 4-13 18-21 8 31 5 8 7
Notre Dame 67 43.1 6-20 17-22 9 36 8 4 13