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Holloway lifts Xavier over Notre Dame

Mar 17, 2012 - 5:49 AM Greensboro, NC (Sports Network) - Tu Holloway's game-high 25 points included the go-ahead layup in the final minute, as Xavier came back from a 10-point second-half deficit to oust Notre Dame, 67-63, in an NCAA Tournament South Region matchup.

Dezmine Wells had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds while Kenny Frease contributed 10 points for the Musketeers (22-12). Their NCAA Tournament run continues Sunday, when they will take on 15th-seeded Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks shocked No. 2 Duke earlier Friday.

Jack Cooley went 8-for-8 from the floor en route to 18 points and Scott Martin and Jerian Grant netted 11 apiece, but it was not enough for the Fighting Irish (22-12).

Down 63-62, Holloway drove into the lane, and, with a hand in his face, banked a fadeaway jumper high off the glass and through the cylinder for the game's 12th and final lead change.

"It's a shot I practiced over the summer," said Holloway. "I knew it was big and I needed to make it for my team."

The Irish had 22 seconds to respond, but they succumbed to a series of errors, first missing a long three-point attempt before committing a lane violation on the potentially game-tying free-throw try and an intentional foul on the ensuing Xavier inbounds pass.

The Musketeers had completed their comeback prior to the late-game heroics. Holloway stole it from Eric Atkins near midcourt and drove to the basket for a fingertip layup in the paint to complete a 21-10 spurt, giving Xavier a 59-58 edge.

But Cooley tipped in Grant's miss and, after Wells tied it on 1-of-2 from the charity stripe, Grant netted a stepback trey for a three-point Irish advantage at the 1:01 mark.

Mark Lyons answered for the Musketeers by driving down the baseline for a layup, and Atkins errantly threw away a pass to set up Holloway's eventual game-winner.

"To win here, to win anywhere you got to have an attention to detail," said Irish head coach Mike Brey. "Holloway made some big plays. I thought we could hold them off, but he made some big plays."

Game Notes

Martin fouled out with 8.1 seconds remaining...Notre Dame outshot Xavier 51 percent to 50 percent...Xavier went to the free-throw line 18 more times than Notre Dame, converting 18-of-27 of its attempts to the Irish's 4-of-9 performance...The Musketeers outscored the Irish 11-4 on fastbreaks and 11-7 on points off turnovers.