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Time runs out on Notre Dame as Stevenson survives close call

There was nothing that Notre Dame could do.

And nothing that Stevenson had to do.

What was for the most part a dramatic, spectacular and hotly-contested sectional semifinal between Notre Dame and Stevenson in Waukegan ended with a strange and surreal whimper on Tuesday.

The Patriots looked about as dumbfounded as their counterparts from Notre Dame as the clock unceremoniously ran out on a 78-77 victory that propelled them into Friday's sectional championship game in Waukegan against the winner of today's semifinal between Lake Forest and Evanston.

"That was crazy," Stevenson senior guard Jalen Brunson said. "We just knew that they (Notre Dame) had no timeouts left, so we were like, 'Just give up the 2, give up the 2 and let the clock run out.' That was the game plan, and they fell for it."

Notre Dame, down by as many 14 points early in the fourth quarter, clawed its way back into the game and closed to within 2 points with 15.8 seconds remaining when Joe Mooney was fouled on a 3-pointer and made all 3 free throws.

Brunson answered on the next play by making 1 of 2 free throw attempts to put Stevenson (26-3) up 78-75. Notre Dame then tried to run a play but the ball was tipped out of bounds by Stevenson with 4.8 seconds left.

After a calling a timeout, Notre Dame (26-5) prepared to inbound the ball under its own basket, needing a 3-pointer to tie the game.

With Stevenson guarding the 3-point line hard, Notre Dame got the ball into 6-foot-7 junior center Anthony D'Avanzo, who was wide open in the paint. He immediately made a layup … and went from excitement to sheer horror in the blink of an eye.

D'Avanzo realized as soon as his shot dropped out of the net that his team had no timeouts left and that the Patriots, seemingly as stunned as he was, didn't even need to touch the ball as the final seconds of the game expired.

"I just wasn't thinking right … I don't know," said a choked up D'Avanzo, who was instrumental in putting Notre Dame in position for a chance at the end by scoring a team-high 24 points. "I just thought we had a timeout, so I went up (for the shot) right away.

"I knew (instantly) that I had messed up, that I had let my team down. I should have thought more on that last play and we might have had a chance in overtime."

D'Avanzo said his teammates didn't quite see it the same way.

"They told me (in the locker room) that it wasn't my fault," D'Avanzo said. "They said that everyone could have done one thing better."

Slowing Brunson more probably topped the list for all of the Dons.

Brunson rolled up a game-high 41 points on 5 three-pointers. He was 10-of-12 from the free throw line, including a 9-for-10 mark during the decisive fourth quarter.

As a team in the fourth quarter, Stevenson was 14-of-16 from the line and scored just 1 basket, a layup by Justin Smith. Notre Dame actually outscored Stevenson in the fourth, 25-16.

"We had a pretty good fourth quarter," said Notre Dame coach Tom Les, who explained that he was at fault for the breakdown on the final play because he was not more clear in the huddle with his instructions. "It was just two really good teams going head-to-head.

"But you know, they have a pretty good player (Brunson) on their team. We tried to slow him down and make him give up the ball. But he's awfully good and sees everything that's going on and does a really good job."

Junior forward Ammar Becar added 22 points for Notre Dame while senior guard Joe Mooney finished with 10 points.

Smith was the only other player to reach double-figures for Stevenson. He had 16 points.

"Them taking a two? That's exactly what we wanted," Stevenson coach Pat Ambrose said of the final play. "We told our guys, 'Guard the arc.' And we did. But I got old in a hurry there, because we almost fouled (D'Avanzo) on that shot that he made by going for a block and that would have been a potential 3-point play for (Notre Dame).

"So don't give us too much credit there either."

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