ABC57 Live in Pittsburgh: Notre Dame beats Northeastern

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -  Notre Dame fought hard for their win against the Northeastern Huskies Thursday afternoon in the NCAA tournament game. The outcome mostly came down to forcing turnovers for the Irish.

“I tell you what, we gave a show the first game of the tournament didn't we?” said Notre Dame Head Basketball Coach Mike Brey.

What would March Madness be without a little flair?

It was a showdown between third seeded Notre Dame and 14 seed Northeastern at the Consol Energy Center.

“I told them in the locker room, we weren't going to beat them by 15, so don't anybody walk out of here feeling like we should have won by 15, it was going to be a dogfight,” said Coach Brey.

After a close first half, the Irish buckled down and forced 16 total Huskies turnovers. Capitalizing on those put 17 points up on the board.

“Especially when you add the turnovers, our ball pressure really affected them at key times,” said Coach Brey.

Zach Auguste led Notre Dame with 25 points.

“Words don't really describe how important he was today. The way he performed, he was always in position, always ready to catch the ball, always ready to finish the ball,” said Irish forward Pat Connaughton.

Auguste sealed the deal with two free throws.

The win sends the Fighting Irish into the third round of the NCAA tourney.

“It's a great feeling to pull off that win. We knew it was going to be a battle, we knew it was going to be a tough game but it's good to pull it away,” said Irish forward Bonzie Colson.

Notre Dame won 69-65 over Northeastern.

Notre Dame will play the winner of the Butler-Texas game Saturday in Pittsburgh.