T.J. Gibbs hit a floater in the lane with 0.1 seconds remaining, and Notre Dame boosted its NCAA Tournament hopes with a 62-61 win over Boston College on Wednesday night in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Gibbs, who finished with nine points, had put the Fighting Irish in front 60-59 on a driving layup with 1:16 left, only to watch as Jay Heath hit a runner with eight seconds remaining for the Eagles.
Prentiss Hubb, who assisted on the game-winner, hit a 3-pointer with 3:44 remaining to give the Irish (18-10, 9-8 ACC) their first lead in 27 minutes. The visitors, who trailed by nine early in the second half, had missed 20 of 26 3-point attempts to that point.
Notre Dame's John Mooney finished with game highs in points, 22, and rebounds, 12.
Steffon Mitchell (12 points, 11 rebounds) missed a triple-double by one assist for the Eagles, who also got 12 points from both Heath and Derryck Thornton.
The Eagles produced a 10-0 run late in the first half, and they led 41-34 at the break. Notre Dame's Rex Pflueger stole an inbounds pass and banked in a desperation half-court shot to close the first half.
The Irish had held six of their past seven opponents to 42.4 percent floor shooting or worse, but Boston College shot 53.3 percent in the first half, including 6 of 14 from beyond the 3-point arc.
The Eagles, bothered by the Notre Dame zone defense, shot just 8 of 29 (27.6 percent) from the floor in the second half to finish at 40.7 percent for the game.
Notre Dame was able to avenge a 73-72 home loss to the Eagles on Dec. 7. That result snapped a 13-game winning streak in the series for the Irish and a 17-1 advantage in the past 18 meetings, dating to February 1999.
The Irish have won three straight and seven of nine to climb over .500. Boston College has dropped four of five.
Notre Dame plays at Wake Forest on Saturday in its final regular-season road game. Boston College is off until its Senior Night on March 3 against Syracuse.
--Field Level Media
