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Notre Dame survives first round scare from Princeton

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Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey said that defense was the key in his team's 60-58 win over Princeton.

Notre Dame staved off the madness to start the NCAA tournament.

The fifth-seeded Fighting Irish fought off an upset bid from No. 12 Princeton and claimed a 60-58 victory in a first-round matchup in Buffalo.

The Tigers had multiple chances late to either tie or take a lead, but were unable to convert, keeping them without an NCAA tournament win since 1998. Princeton had a look to tie it with 18 seconds left, but Steven Cook’s 3-pointer was off the mark, though a tip-in from Pete Miller pulled the Tigers within one. Matt Farrell then missed the front-end of a one-and-one, giving Princeton the ball down one.

The Tigers pushed the ball past halfcourt, but Devin Cannady settled for a decent 3-point look rather than attack the rim and his offering clanked off the rim.

Notre Dame entered the game as the country’s top free-throw shooting team at 79.9 percent, but struggled mightily at the line this day, going 14 of 21 (66.7 percent), which in no small part helped the Tigers stick around and ultimately have a chance to win the game on the final possession.

Bonzie Colson had 18 points, seven rebounds and two assists for the Irish. Farrell had 16 points, four rebounds and four assists.

Princeton got 15 points from Spencer Weisz in a game in which they shot 38.6 percent from the floor and 25.8 percent from 3-point range, but still had an opportunity to win.

The Irish will now await the winner of No. 4 West Virginia and No. 13 Bucknell for the right to advance to the Sweet 16 in the West region.