SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP)—Joe Carr was having trouble passing, so he hit the winning shot instead.
The 5-foot-6 Carr made just his second shot of the game, a 3-pointer from the top of the key just before the buzzer, to give Central Michigan a 69-68 victory over No. 23 Notre Dame on Saturday night.
“The only option I had was to knock the shot down,” he said.
Carr wasn’t the Chippewas’ first choice to take the shot. He hadn’t scored more than three points in a game before Saturday and had thrown up a desperation airball two minutes earlier as the shot clock expired.
Carr was supposed to pass the ball into the corner but he couldn’t find anyone open so he shot it.
“We executed the play at the end of the game to perfection,” Central Michigan coach Jay Smith said.
Irish coach Mike Brey said he would have liked to have called a timeout, but the Irish didn’t have any.
“It is chaotic. Who can think in chaos?” he said.
Some of the Irish thought Carr’s shot was only a 2-pointer.
“I thought he was on the line,” said Chris Thomas, who led Notre Dame with 24 points.
The Chippewas (2-4) led almost the entire game until Thomas banked in a 14-foot jumper to give the Irish a 60-59 lead with 2:04 left. After Chris Quinn made a pair of free throws, Thomas hit a 15-foot jumper to give Notre Dame a 64-59 lead with 29 seconds left.
But Kevin Nelson, who led Central Michigan with 17 points, made a 3-pointer with 19 seconds left to cut the lead to 64-62. Notre Dame (2-2) could have iced the game at the free throw line, but Quinn missed one of two with 18.7 seconds left and Jordan Cornette made just one of two with 3.8 seconds left to put the Irish up 68-66.
Carr dribbled the ball up court, stopped at the top of the key and hit his first 3-pointer of the game.
“On the road, this win is right up there with last year’s Creighton game,” said Smith, referring to the Chippewas’ 79-73 victory in the first round of the NCAA tournament last season.
Brandon Vorhees added 13 points for Central Michigan and Gerrrit Brigitha, who is from nearby Niles, Mich., added nine.
Quinn scored 13 for the Irish, Colin Falls had 11 and Torin Francis added 10. The Irish were without top defender Torrian Jones, who was out with an injured hip, and Tom Timmermans, who has an injured back.
“Not having the seniors had a lot of effect on leadership,” Thomas said. “The bodies we did have didn’t have much experience.”
Despite playing its sixth game in 13 days, the Chippewas never looked tired. They took charge from the start, making six of seven shots to take a 13-4 lead. Brigitha scored seven points during the run as Central Michigan held Notre Dame to 1-of-6 shooting.
Central Michigan continued its hot shooting through much of the first half, leading 37-31 at the half. The Irish, who were beaten 71-58 by No. 24 Marquette on Monday, tied the score five times in the second half, twice on 3-pointers by Falls, once on a 3-pointer by Quinn and twice on free throws by Thomas and Francis—but couldn’t take the lead until Thomas banked in his shot.
“This loss kills us,” Thomas said. “Mentally it kills us.”