SOUTH BEND, Ind., Feb. 9 (UPI) -- Chris Thomas fed freshman Torin Francis for the game-winning layup with just under a second left Sunday as No. 10 Notre Dame posted a thrilling 66-64 Big East Conference victory over fourth-ranked Pittsburgh.
Thomas was outplayed badly by Notre Dame's Brandin Knight, the reigning conference Player of the Year, on Jan. 6 in a 72-55 victory for Pittsburgh (16-3, 6-2 Big East West). Knight scored 12 points in that one and limited Thomas to five.
The tables were turned in this one as Thomas led all scorers with 24 points and Knight missed his first eight shots. But Knight finally connected on a clutch three-pointer with 32 seconds left to knot the contest at 64-64.
Notre Dame (19-4, 7-2) decided against calling a timeout as Thomas dribbled the ball near the center circle as he was guarded heavily by Knight. Thomas finally started his move with six seconds to go and beat Knight off the dribble just enough to fire a pass inside to Francis, who banked home his layup with six-tenths of a second to go.
The Fighting Irish knocked away the Panthers' inbound pass at the buzzer and the fans stormed the court at the Joyce Convocation Center.
The win marked the fourth of the season for Notre Dame against a top-10 opponent, including a one-week stretch in December when it knocked off Marquette, Maryland and Texas. The Fighting Irish moved into a tie for first place in the West Division with Syracuse and won their 15th straight home game.
