By By DAN WEISS / Niles Daily Star
NOTRE DAME, Ind. -- A 3-pointer by reserve guard Ryan Tapak with 28 seconds left on the clock gave Indiana enough of a cushion to beat Notre Dame 66-63 Wednesday night in the Joyce Center.
The Hoosiers, now 3-3 on the year, took their first lead four minutes into the game and led the rest of the first half until Notre Dame (2-3) tied it at 31 just before halftime.
The Irish led by as many as four early in the second half until a 3-pointer by Tapak at 15:12 gave Indiana a one-point lead at 42-41 and the Hoosiers never trailed again.
Notre Dame junior guard Chris Thomas drove the baseline and made a layup with 20 second left to close the Indiana lead to 66-63.
It took the Irish 10 seconds to commit a foul and send Tapak to the line for a one-and-one.
Torin Francis grabbed the rebound of Tapak's miss and Colin Falls took a 3-pointer that bounced off the front of the rim at the buzzer.
Notre Dame has lost three straight games and eight straight to the Hoosiers.
Thomas led all scorers with 24 points to go along with six assists. Francis added 13 points and 14 rebounds.
Bracey Wright led Indiana with 19 points and Sean Kline added 12.
Notre Dame travels to Chicago, Ill., Sunday to take on DePaul at 2 p.m.
Indiana….66
Notre Dame….63
Indiana: Sean Kline 4 4-4 12, Mike Roberts 2 0-0 4, Bracey Wright 7 2-2 19, Donald Perry 2 0-0 4, Marshall Strickland 3 0-0 6, A.J. Moye 2 4-5 8, Pat Ewing Jr. 1 1-2 3, Roderick Wilmont 0 0-0 0, Ryan Tapak 3 0-1 8, J. Gray-Ashley 1 0-0 2. Totals: 25 11-14 66
Notre Dame: Jordan Cornette 3 2-5 9, Torin Francis 4 5-6 13, Chris Thomas 8 4-4 24, Chris Quinn 1 2-2 4, Torrian Jones 1 0-0 3, Rick Cornett 1 0-0 2, Colin Falls 2 2-2 8. Totals: 20 15-19 63
Halftime score: Indiana 31, Notre Dame 31
3-point shooting: Indiana 5 (Wright 3, Tapak 2), Notre Dame 8 (Thomas 4, Falls 2, Jones, Cornette). Team fouls (fouled out): Indiana 20 (Kline), Notre Dame 15 (none). Team records: Indiana 3-3, Notre Dame 2-3