Laszewski's game-tying trey sparks Notre Dame's OT win over Toledo
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.