SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) T.J. Gibbs made two steals in the final 35 seconds of overtime and assisted Rex Pflueger on the go-ahead basket with 25 seconds left as Notre Dame rallied for a 64-62 victory over Toledo on Thursday night.
Gibbs' first steal led to Pflueger's backdoor basket and a 60-59 Fighting Irish lead. He followed with another steal and added two free throws for a 62-59 count.
A missed 3-pointer by the Rockets' Willie Jackson with four seconds left led to Pflueger adding two more free throws at 1.1 showing to clinch the game.
Notre Dame (5-1) won its fifth straight in what was effectively the title contest of the five-team, round-robin Men Against Breast Cancer Invitational.
Dane Goodwin led the Irish with 16 points, 14 coming after halftime. Fellow sophomore Nate Laszewski added 10.
Laszewski's 3-pointer at the regulation horn off an inbound from Pflueger forced overtime.
Gibbs scored 11 points, while Pflueger snatched a career-high six steals.
Notre Dame star John Mooney, in his return from a stomach virus that kept him out of Monday's win, netted a season-low seven points, but added 15 rebounds.
Marreon Jackson poured in 23 points for Toledo (3-2), while Jackson added 20 rebounds to go with 11 points. Chris Knapke scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Rockets.
BIG PICTURE
Toledo: A potentially resume-building win for the Rockets went by the wayside. They'll have precious few of those opportunities over the rest of their schedule.
Notre Dame: The Irish continued to build steam heading closer to their Dec. 4 visit to No. 6 Maryland. They also have matchups next month with UCLA and Indiana, which were both undefeated entering Thursday.
UP NEXT
Toledo: The Rockets host NAIA program Northwestern Ohio (2-5) on Saturday.
Notre Dame: The Irish welcome Fairleigh Dickinson (1-3) on Tuesday in the last of six straight home games.