APBradshaw, who said he sent his game tapes as a high schooler far away to Winthrop just because, is often a 3-point shooter.
“We were back on our heels,” Brey said. “We looked young. They looked old.”
But Winthrop made just three free throws over eight minutes, and the Irish closed to within 57-56 on a putback by Carter off an airballed 3.
Notre Dame took the lead on Luke Harangody’s turnaround. He was fouled on the play, but missed the ensuing free throw.
Then the Eagles soared again, scoring eight of the next 10 points. Bradshaw’s shot inside and Chris Gaynor’s second 3-pointer in three tries put the Eagles up 67-63 with 1:30 to go.
After Irish freshman point guard Tory Jackson made one of two free throws, Michael Jenkins pushed the ball to Bradshaw for a sprinting dunk and one of his 11 assists. That gave the Eagles a 70-64 lead with 35 seconds left and essentially ended Notre Dame’s season.
The Eagles scored the first 10 points of the second half, five by Martin. After his 3-pointer that put Winthrop up 39-28 and forced a time out by Notre Dame with 18:27 left, Martin tapped both temples and flew his hands in the air.
Two minutes later, Gaynor, a 5-foot-10 guard, blocked a putback try by Notre Dame’s 6-9 rebounding leader Rob Kurz. Jenkins finished the break the other way with a deft bounce pass behind his back that found Martin in stride for a dazzling layup. The arena erupted with ooohhs and cheers, and Winthrop had erupted for a 46-30 lead with 16 minutes remaining.
Arc's five up, five down: After No. 11 Michigan State's 58-48 upset of No. 3 Ohio State, you'd be a fool to discount the Spartans' national title chances now.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 15 points and Evan Smotrycz added 13, helping No. 22 Michigan remain unbeaten at home with a 70-61 win over Illinois on Sunday.
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