SOUTH BEND, Ind. Quinton Spain Jersey . -- Steve Vasturia made sure Notre Dame didnt let Clemson rally back and force a third overtime. The Fighting Irish led most of the way against the Tigers on Tuesday night, going up by as many as nine points early in the second half, by seven points with just under 3 minutes remaining in regulation and by four with 24 seconds left in the first overtime before Vasturia hit two 3-pointers in the second overtime to help Notre Dame pull out the 68-64 victory. "We had it won a couple times, we handed it back a couple times, but found a way to win it," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. Clemson coach Brad Brownell blamed his teams offensive struggles. "Were just not as talented offensively as we need to be. Were very inconsistent shooting," he said. Vasturia hit the first 3 to give the Irish a 63-62 lead early then added a second with 62 seconds left that gave Notre Dame a 66-64 lead. Pat Connaughton then added a pair of free throws to help the Irish overcome a career-high 30 points and 14 rebounds by Clemsons K.J. McDaniels. Vasturia said he was open because the Tigers were focusing on Eric Atkins, who hit a game-winning 3-pointer in overtime against Boston College 10 days earlier. "A lot of teams are going to key on Eric just by the way he scores and creates. If we have open looks, were expected to shoot them and were confident we can make them," he said. Atkins said Vasturia, who was 1-of-5 from the field and 0-of-3 from behind the arc heading into the second overtime, showed a lot of confidence. "Hes not scared of the moment and I love that about him," he said. McDaniels said the baskets by Vasturia were key "He hit some big shots, and they were hard to cover. In the end, they came up with some clutch shots," he said. The Fighting Irish (13-12, 4-8 Atlantic Coast Conference) avoided falling below .500 for the first time this late in the season since finishing 14-16 during the 1998-99 season in John MacLeods last year as coach. Brey said the victory was "huge" for the struggling Irish. "We would have been really struggling if we didnt win this game," he said. Clemson (15-8, 6-5) lost back-to-back games for just the second time this season. McDaniels said the Tigers need to show the same intensity at the beginning of the game as they did at the end. "Were going to learn from this," he said. Both teams squandered chances to win the game earlier. Rod Hall could have given the Tigers, playing on only a days rest after losing at Syracuse on Sunday, a one-point lead with 4.6 seconds left, but missed the first of two free throws, sending the game into overtime. The Irish opened a 60-56 lead in the first overtime on a three-point play by Connaughton, but couldnt hang on. The Tigers scored two baskets in the final 10 seconds and Landry Nnoko then stole the inbounds pass. After being fouled by Connaughton with 8.4 seconds left, Nnoko, a 57 per cent free-throw shooter, made both to tie the score at 60. After another turnover by Atkins, McDaniels missed a long jumper at the first overtime buzzer. "There were a few times when I looked up at the scoreboard and said, We got this," Atkins said. "Then they made some plays and got a couple of turnovers and they tied it back up again." McDaniels, who also had five blocked shots, was 13-of-24 from the field, while the rest of the Tigers were 11 of 46. The only other Clemson player in double figures was Hall with 12 points. Zach Auguste matched his career-high with 14 points and had a career-high 12 rebounds. Connaughton added 13 points and seven rebounds and Vasturia finished with 11 points. The Irish out-rebounded Clemson 43-40 and had a 30-26 edge in points in the paint. But Clemson forced 12 turnovers and had 16 points off turnovers compared with just two for the Irish. Notre Dame freshman Demetrius Jackson, who has been struggling lately, was not at the game. Brey said he is taking some time off to focus on academics. Brey said Garrick Sherman, Notre Dames leading scorer, may have broken his finger in the first half, although he continued to play. The Irish have now won nine of their last 10 overtime games. Kevin Pamphile Jersey .com) - Calgary Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau has been selected as the NHLs Rookie of the Month for December, the league announced Friday. Jayon Brown Jersey .B. -- Canadian pairs skaters Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford went from elated to frustrated in the span of a few minutes.TORONTO -- Bradley Orr said that every kids dream growing up playing soccer in England was to hoist a cup. So he and his Toronto FC teammates say they will have no problem getting up for their Amway Canadian Championship final against rival Montreal Impact, even if the result doesnt count toward Major League Soccer standings. "No, not at all. I love cup games. Theres a prize at the end of it," the Toronto defender said after practice Tuesday. "Back in England it was the FA Cup, now that were here its the Canadian Cup, and its just as important for me as any league game, because theres pride at stake and theres a lot to play for. Its a big game, no doubt about it, and one were looking forward to." Toronto hosts Montreal for the first of two legs Wednesday at BMO Field. The second leg is June 4 at Saputo Stadium in Montreal. The team with the higher aggregate score after the two matches also represents Canada in the 2014-2015 CONCACAF Champions League. "Very very important," captain Steven Caldwell said. "We want to win the Cup. We obviously want to get a good lead if we can from the first leg, its going to be tough, were playing our rivals, a very good side, who are . . . far better than theyve been showing." Toronto is hoping to reclaim the title they relinquished to Montreal last season. TFC won the championship four straight years -- from 2009 through 2012 -- while the Impact won the inaugural competition in 2008 and again last year. "Its Canadian pride here," Toronto-born defender Ashtone Morgan said on the importance of the matches. "I think last year we had a sour taste in our mouth and were looking to bounce back this year, and looking to get the trophy." Dwayne De Rosario is tied for the tournament all-time lead in goals with four, and won back-to-back tournament MVP honours, in 2009 and 10. The 2009 victory was De Rosarios first playing with his hometown team in Toronto, after holding MLS jobs with the San Jose Earthquakes and Houston Dynamo. "For me it was a first championship coming back home, a championship for my city, a championship for TFC, and it was a special moment," De Rosario said. "And hopefully I can create another special moment tomorrow and win back that trophy for this club." Toronto is 7-1-2 all-time against the Impact in Canadian Championship action and are the favourites this season against a Montreal team that is struggling through a horrendous start to the season. TFC has four wins, four losses and one draw in MLS games, while Montreal is 1-6-4 and last in the league. Toronto coach Ryan Nelsen warned though that not only is Montreal a better team than this seasons results indicate, but standings and recent results dont mean much when a championship trophy is on the line. "Very dangerous team, very good team," Nelsen said of the Impact. "Theyre just having a little bit of a bad run at the moment. When you come to this competition, form doesnt really matter, it kind of goes out the window. Ive watched a lot of theiir games, and they have been unlucky in quite a few of them; theyve had opportunities to win the games, but it hasnt fallen their way. Cameron Batson Jersey. You know the quality they have, theyll get it right." Toronto defeated the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 at home and then 5-3 on penalty kicks in Vancouver to reach the final. The Impact battled back to beat second-division side FC Edmonton to earn their spot in the final. It was a confident TFC team that practised Wednesday morning at their training ground north of the city, after salvaging a 2-2 draw at Sporting Kansas City -- the defending league champions -- last Friday. Toronto managed a draw despite losing Caldwell to a red card in the 63rd minute. "Were very pleased with the result, not the performance particularly but at the end of the day were judged on points. . . Well take that in a very tough place to play," Caldwell said. "They were obviously a better team and we couldnt get anything going all night, and then with the sending off, and the penalty (awarded to Kansas City in the 84th minute for a Doneil Henry foul in the box). . . we felt even the 50-50 decisions were going against us. But well take the draw and move on. Excited for (Wednesday) night." Caldwells red card will keep him out of Saturdays MLS game against the visiting Columbus Crew, but hell be available Wednesday to a Toronto lineup that wont differ much from last Friday. Nelsen said midfielders Jonathan Osorio (hamstring) and Jackson Goncalves (concussion) wont play, while Luke Moore (groin) is questionable. Collen Warner, recently acquired in a trade with Montreal, is ineligible to play because hes cup-tied to the Impact. Nelsen was already in good spirits Wednesday but the coach brightened considerably when asked his thoughts on Queens Park Rangers promotion to the Premier League. "Brilliant. Absolutely fantastic," said Nelsen, who ended his playing career with QPR. The squad that Nelsen played two seasons for defeated Derby 1-0 last weekend to earn promotion. Bobby Zamora scored the decisive goal, pouncing on a defensive miscue by Derby in the 90th minute. "Football is a funny game . . . when youre down to 10 men, as long as you stay in the game, you generally get that one chance. It couldnt have been more obvious than that QPR game," Nelsen said. "Bobby took it brilliantly like he has for his whole career. I can imagine there were a few celebrations that night." Nelsen said he is still emotionally tied to QPR, as he is to every team hes played for, saying he still has good friends not only with that club but DC United, Blackburn, and Tottenham. "You get so emotionally involved because you go through so many highs and lows and people dont really understand how low the lows are and how high the highs are, that you become friends and you make friends," he said. 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