Rutgers outlasts Notre Dame 85-84 in Players Era overtime classic

Rutgers Basketball defeated Notre Dame 85-84 in its opening game at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. The Scarlet Knights outlasted the Fighting Irish in a back-and-forth game that came down to the last second.

Star freshman Dylan Harper led the way for Rutgers as he has all year, scoring a career-high 36 points and getting to the rim on countless possessions while setting up his teammates with six rebounds and six assists.

Notre Dame was without leading scorer Markus Burton for all but three minutes after he suffered a leg injury early on, but Braeden Shrewsberry and Princeton transfer Matt Allocco made up for the lost production. Shrewsberry led the Irish with 16 points on 6-for-20 shooting from the floor and was the leading scorer.

Allocco posted a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds, including countless three-pointers late in the second half and in overtime. He single-handedly brought Notre Dame back into the game and equalized late.

Notre Dame was able to control the game early with strong rebounds and three-point shots and built a double-digit lead late in the first half. However, a timeout by Steve Pikiell got the team back on track as the Scarlet Knights were able to cut their lead to one point heading into the locker room.

The Fighting Irish shot 7 of 17 from the three-point line in the first 20 minutes while also gaining a 24-13 advantage in rebounds.

Ace Bailey also struggled to start the game, scoring just 3 points on 1-for-5 shooting from the floor, with his only shot coming off an offensive rebound and a putback.

Early in the game, Burton was injured attempting a layup in which Emmanuel Ogbole landed directly on his leg, forcing him to miss the rest of the night. Shrewsberry scored 12 points in the first half on 4-for-10 shooting from the floor.

The second half was fast-paced as the teams stayed within two possessions for almost the entire half. Rutgers continued to struggle, but Notre Dame continued to hit big shots.

With less than seven minutes to play, the Irish made two straight three-pointers, triggering a Steve Pikiell timeout.

From then on, the defense went hard. The Fighting Irish endured a nearly five-minute scoring rout while the Scarlet Knights went on a 9-0 run, capped by a dunk from Jordan Derkack and a three-point play from Harper.

The two teams traded blows until the last minute. Allocco hit a layup to give Notre Dame the lead with a minute to play, but Bailey overcame his troubles and hit a game-winning go-ahead shot from midrange with less than 50 seconds left.

Allocco missed on the ensuing possession and two Derkack free throws increased the lead to three. Allocco marched down the court and hit an impressive three-pointer with eight seconds left, giving the Scarlet Knights a game-winning situation. Harper’s pull-up three drew nothing but air and sent the game into overtime.

Overtime was a similar back-and-forth affair until the final minute, when Rutgers took a lead of 15 thanks to a three-pointer from Jeremiah Williams following a cross-court pass from Harper and a steal from Tyson Acuff that led to a Derkack goal scored five points.

Allocco scored nine points in 30 seconds to bring the Irish into a tie with less than 10 seconds to play, but an unexplained foul in the backcourt by Cole Certa gave Harper a chance to take the lead. With four seconds left in the game, he hit one of two free throws to set up a potential game-winner, but Allocco’s misses failed at the buzzer.

Dylan Harper crosses through the teeth of the defense and releases the three-point play.

The Scarlet Knights will be back in action in less than 24 hours when they face No. 9 Alabama after an overtime win over Houston. The game is scheduled to begin at 10:00 p.m. EST and will be broadcast on TBS.

With both teams winning tonight, the winner between the Scarlet Knights and Crimson Tide will secure a spot in the first Players Era Championship Game.