Saint Joseph's 79, No. 21 Notre Dame 70 (OT): Ronald Roberts Jr. scored seven of his 21 points in overtime and the Hawks upset the Irish in the semifinals of the Coaches versus Cancer Classic at Brooklyn's Barclays Center.
Roberts added 14 rebounds and Staten Island native Halil Kanacevic had 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists for Saint Joseph's (2-0), which took control with a 13-0 run that spanned the end of regulation and the start of overtime. The Hawks will face Florida State in the championship game Saturday.
Saint Joseph's is favored to win the revamped Atlantic 10 and it showed why despite missing leading returning scorer Carl Jones, who served the final game of a three-game suspension. After trailing for most of the second half, the Hawks forced overtime by scoring the final eight points of regulation and carried the momentum into the extra session.
Jack Cooley registered 14 points and 14 rebounds for Notre Dame (2-1), which shot only 38.6 percent (27-of-70). The Irish missed 11 straight shots before Eric Atkins' jumper cut the Hawks' lead to 71-68 with 1:09 left in overtime.
But Kanacevic all but sealed the win when he spun away from a defender in the low post and hit Roberts for a layup with 44 seconds to play.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Notre Dame shot 7-of-13 from 3-point range in the first half. ... Roberts, the reigning Atlantic 10 Sixth Man of the Year who moved into the starting lineup this year, energized the crowd with a pair of thunderous dunks in the first half. ... Neither team committed a foul in the first 13:03 of the first half.
St. Joseph's | Notre Dame | |
Ronald Roberts 21 | Scoring | Jack Cooley 14 |
Halil Kanacevic 6 | Assists | Eric Atkins 10 |
Ronald Roberts 16 | Rebounds | Jack Cooley 14 |
Ronald Roberts 11 | Free Throws Made | Eric Atkins 2 |
Halil Kanacevic 3 | Steals | Eric Atkins 2 |
C.J. Aiken 3 | Blocks | Jack Cooley 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
St. Joseph's | 79 | 46.6 | 6-17 | 19-24 | 13 | 38 | 9 | 4 | 10 |
Notre Dame | 70 | 39.1 | 10-28 | 6-9 | 16 | 33 | 3 | 4 | 12 |