Notre Dame escapes Princeton to avoid NCAA tournament 12-5 seed upset

BUFFALO — It was there for the taking, but Princeton, which lives by the three, died by it.

Devin Cannady missed an open three in the closing seconds and Notre Dame tacked on a free throw to survive, 60-58, in a first-round game Thursday.

Notre Dame’s uniforms were green and gold but — with Cannady’s shot in the air —  their knuckles were white. Steve Vasturia pulled down the rebound on the miss and was fouled. He made one free throw with a fraction of a second on the clock and missed the next one. Matt Farrell’s missed one-and-one with 10.6 seconds to play had left the door wide open for the Tigers to pull the upset. The Irish, the nation's best free-throw shooting team, struggled from the charity stripe down the stretch.

BOX SCORE: Notre Dame 60, Princeton 58

HEARTBREAK:Princeton's upset bid fall short

HIGHLIGHTS: The best action from Thursday's first round

BRACKET:Follow the field to Glendale

Notre Dame was led by its star, Bonzie Colson, who had 18 points, while Farrell chipped in with 16 points. Princeton was fueled by Spencer Weisz's 15 points.

Irish coach Mike Brey after the game, "We weren't in the best of offensive rhythm where we had to win it with our defense."

NCAA TOURNAMENT FIRST-ROUND HIGHLIGHTS