GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) - Grant Basile scored 20 points, Justyn Mutts added 18 and Virginia Tech rallied to beat Notre Dame 67-64 on Tuesday night in the first round of the New York Life Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.
Rodney Rice's 3-pointer and a layup from Mutts gave Virginia Tech a 63-62 advantage with 1:02 left. The game was tied 64-all when Mutts scored on a dunk, and then Rice blocked Cormac Ryan's layup attempt with 12 seconds to play.
Sean Pedulla split a pair of free throws for the Hokies with 10 seconds left. Mutts blocked Marcus Hammond's 3-pointer and Nate Laszewski missed a 3 to end it.
Pedulla added 13 points for 11th-seeded Virginia Tech (19-13), which has won six straight in the series. Hunter Cattoor had 11 points.
Marcus Hammond scored 23 points for No. 14 seed Notre Dame (11-21), which may have played its last game with coach Mike Brey, who is stepping down after 23 years at the helm. Ryan finished with 18 points.
The Fighting Irish led 58-53 with 5:35 to play, but they trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half before pulling to 32-31 with 1:01 left before the break.
Game 3 Notes
2023 New York Life ACC Tournament
#11 Virginia Tech 67, #14 Notre Dame 64
- No. 11 seed Virginia Tech (19-13) advances to the second round of the 2023 New York Life ACC Tournament, where it will face No. 6 seed NC State (22-9) in the 9:30 p.m. session finale (ESPN2). The Wolfpack claimed a 73-69 win when the teams met in Blacksburg back on Jan. 7.
- Virginia Tech owns a 15-17 all-time ACC Tournament record, including a 4-8 mark in Greensboro
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- Notre Dame now stands 11-8 all-time in ACC Tournament play, including a 5-3 mark at the Greensboro Coliseum, where the Fighting Irish won the title in 2015.
- Virginia Tech is 10-9 all-time versus the Fighting Irish, including a 2-1 edge in ACC Tournament play. The teams previously met twice in tournament play in Brooklyn, where Notre Dame won 71-65 in 2018 and the Hokies prevailed 2022 in the quarterfinals last year on their way to winning the event for the first time.
- Virginia Tech is now 5-4 in ACC Tournament first-round games.
- The double-double by Virginia Tech’s Justyn Mutts in Tuesday night’s win is his ninth of the season.
- The game-high 23 points by Notre Dame graduate guard Marcus Hammond were a season-high.
- The No. 14 seeded Irish closed out the season at 11-21. Tuesday night’s game was the 12th loss to an ACC opponent by single digits and the sixth that was decided by a single possession.
- The No. 11 seed is now 6-4 all-time versus the No. 14 seed in the first round of the ACC Tournament.
- The ACC and Commissioner Jim Phillips honored Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey with a pregame recognition and presentation. Brey is stepping down at the end of this season as the winningest head coach in Irish program history (483 wins in 23 seasons). He owns a 582-332 career record in 28 total head coaching seasons. Brey also spent eight seasons in the ACC as a Duke assistant from 1987 through 1995.