NEW YORK -- Rex Pflueger was hoping for a chance at redemption ever since missing a potential game-winning shot in high school.
On Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament's East Region, the Notre Dame freshman got his chance, tipping in the winning basket with 1.5 seconds to play, lifting the Fighting Irish to a 76-75 win over Stephen F. Austin at the Barclays Center.
The basket produced Pflueger's only points of the game.
Notre Dame (23-11) meets the winner between Xavier and Wisconsin in the East Region semifinals Friday in Philadelphia. The Irish are headed to the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive year.
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Demetrius Jackson led Notre Dame with 18 points, and Zach Auguste had 16 points and 15 rebounds.
Thomas Walkup topped the Lumberjacks (28-6) with 21 points and Demetrious Floyd added 16 points. The loss snapped Stephen F. Austin's 21-game losing streak, which was the longest among Division I teams.
Jackson and Auguste missed in-close layups before Pflueger's heroics on the Irish's third attempt on the same possession.
At Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California, where he was Southern California's Player of the Year in 2015, Pflueger missed a similar shot
"It was a semifinal in the CIF (California Interscholastic Federation)," recalled Pflueger of his missed shot in high school. "It was a tip-in, too, same exact kind of situation that I missed it, and we ended up losing that game. So it was nice to get this one.
"I always wished I could get that one (shot) back."
The 6-foot-6 Pflueger was in the right place at the time Sunday.
"I didn't expect that, to be honest," Pflueger said. "I just crashed the board. I thought Zach was going to make that last layup, but coach (Mike Brey) always emphasizes going to the board hard, especially in situations like that, and it just turned out for the best for us."
A layup and two free throws by Jackson sliced the Lumberjacks' lead to 75-74 with 47 seconds to play.
Walkup converted two free throws for a 75-70 Lumberjacks advantage with 2:05 to go. Those were the last points Stephen F. Austin scored.
"We were putting the ball in (Thomas Walkup's) hands," Lumberjacks coach Brad Underwood said. "Give (the Irish) credit because they made the stops they needed to make. The one thing that we were going to do was have (Walkup) make a pass, have him make a shot, or have him get fouled.
"Again, they came up with the plays. It was no different than what we did the other night against West Virginia. We put the ball in Tom's hands, and I'll do it again every single time. I'm going to live and die with that young man."
The teams traded baskets for nearly three minutes until Floyd nailed his fourth 3-pointer in just over three minutes to put the Lumberjacks ahead 73-70 with 3:35 left to play.
Walkup's two free throws with 6:46 remaining gave the Lumberjacks their first lead of the second half, 66-64.
Notre Dame engineered an 8-2 run to push its advnatage to 62-55 lead with 9:18 to play, but the Lumberjacks quickly responded with a 9-2 spurt to tie it at 64-64 with 6:58 remaining. Floyd drilled two 3-pointers and Walkup contributed a traditional three-point play.
V.J. Beachem's 3-pointer from the right corner with two seconds left in the half gave the Fighting Irish a 42-41 edge. He led Notre Dame with 11 first-half points and finished with 15.
The lead exchanged hands five times and was tied three times in the first half.
NOTES: Stephen F. Austin F/G Thomas Walkup was 26-for-27 from the foul line in the two tournament games. He scored a school-record 615 points this season. ... The Fighting Irish are 16-2 when leading at the half this season. ... In 16 seasons under coach Mike Brey, Notre Dame has appeared in the NCAA Tournament 10 times. When Brey played at Northwestern State (La.), he scored a career-high 22 points against Stephen F. Austin in 1979. ... Stephen F. Austin's Thomas Walkup played on an AAU team with Cameron Ridley, now at Texas, Ryan Manuel, who played for SMU, and SFA teammate Trey Pinkney. ... In 35 minutes against West Virginia's press in the first round and then 34 minutes against Notre Dame, Stephen F. Austin G Trey Pinkney had no turnovers. ... The single-digit decision was the first for the Lumberjacks since a 72-66 win over Houston Baptist on Feb. 6, ending a streak of 12 consecutive double-digit wins.
