SOUTH BEND, Ind. Vans Sk8 Hi Clearance . -- 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. Vans Old Skool Wholesale .Y. -- Scott Chandler is returning to Buffalo, where he spent the past three seasons establishing himself as the Bills top pass-catching tight end. Cheap Vans Shoes . Mike Babcock has turned to the Montreal Canadiens goalie over Roberto Luongo, who backed Canada to a gold medal in Vancouver in 2010, for Canadas final preliminary round game against the ailing Finns.ST. PETERSBURG – Brandon Morrow is back with the Blue Jays and hes a reliever right now. Its not a job he plans on getting used to. "I think I could still be effective as a starter," said Morrow. "I think thats where you get your most important innings. Id like to, going forward, be in that role next year and beyond." The problem, if thats the correct term, is two-fold. First, Morrow has been unable to remain healthy for three consecutive seasons. He made 21 starts in a brilliant 2012 (career-best 2.96 ERA) which was interrupted by a two-month summer stint on the disabled list with a strained oblique. After only 10 starts last year, during which he struggled to a 5.63 ERA and a 5.42 FIP, Morrow was sidelined by an entrapped radial nerve in his right forearm. This season wasnt much better. Morrow made six starts and went to the disabled list in early May after tearing a tendon sheath in his right index finger during a start in Pittsburgh."I guess I have been prone to injury," said Morrow. "I dont think that means anything in the future – that because Ive been prone to injury in the past that Ill be injury-prone in the future. There have been guys that have gone through issues for a couple years and come back and had five, six healthy years in a row."The other matter: Morrow has a $10-million club option on his services for 2015, a number which seems expensive for a player whos been unable to stay on the field. General manager Alex Anthopoulos insisted he hasnt made a decision on whether hell exercise Morrows option, preferring not to make any such pronouncements until seasons end. "The next month is very important. Brandon being back and being healthy is very important. You look at a guy like (Adam) Lind last year. He hit seven home runs in September and if there would have been debate in August about whether he was going to be back or not, in September he certainly cemented himself. Thats not to say its the be-all and end-all, but I always get asked at the All-Star break or in April and May, about guys for next year and I like to sit back and take the full body of work, all six months." Should the Jays decline Morrows option, it wouldnt eliminate them from bringing him back. Morrow doesnt seem hung up on a dollar figure, provided hes paid fairly, and believes that if there isnt a starting job available to him in Toronto there will be one elsewhere. As for his return in the bullpen, it has as much to do with necessity as anything else. The minor league season is over and Morrow had progressed enough to get into two games for Triple-A Buffalo. Theres no other way to stretch him out and because he missed four months, hed have needed the equivalent of aa full spring training to return to the rotation. Vans Old Skool Clearance. . "Ideally he would have had a little more time but Brandon has done it before," said Anthopoulos. "He can be effective out of the bullpen but I have no doubt he can be an effective starter as well. We didnt have enough time to get him stretched out as a starter and this was the best way he could help the team." It was the Blue Jays that made Morrow a full-time starting pitcher upon acquiring him in the 2009-2010 offseason. Previously, in Seattle, Morrow made 131 appearances over three seasons and all but 15 were in relief. He saved 16 games in that span, including 10 in 2008. The 2015 rotation figures to include Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez and Drew Hutchison. J.A. Happ has a club-friendly $6.2-million option and hes pitched well enough this year to have it picked up. Mark Buehrle and R.A. Dickey will be there, too, unless Anthopoulos swings offseason deals to move one or both. If Daniel Norris doesnt break camp, hell be knocking on the door. A team can never have enough pitching. Morrow, when healthy, has proven he can be dominant. Whether his future is in Toronto, only time will tell. RASMUS SITS It appears Colby Rasmus final days in a Blue Jays uniform will mostly be spent on the bench. Rasmus met with manager John Gibbons and bench coach DeMarlo Hale on Tuesday, when he was told the news he was no longer in the starting lineup. "I said yesterday we want to look at some of those other guys that are up here. So, yeah," said Gibbons. Rasmus has struggled to a .225/.287/.426 line this season. Hes hit 16 home runs but also has struck out 116 times for a 32-percent strikeout rate. Corner outfielders Jose Bautista and Melky Cabrera arent going anywhere. With Anthony Gose, Kevin Pillar and Dalton Pompey vying for playing time Rasmus, an impending free agent, gets pushed to the fringes. Rasmus told TSN.ca he would be cheering on his younger teammates. Rasmus counts Gose as one of his best friends. IZTURIS DROPS BY Maicer Izturis was in the visitors dugout while the Blue Jays took batting practice before Wednesdays game. The infielder suffered a season-ending knee injury on April 13 in Baltimore. It was a freak accident; Izturis slipped descending the dugout stairs on his way to the bat rack. He tore the ACL and MCL in his left knee. Izturis used the downtime to have a surgical procedure done on his right shoulder. He called it minor, a "clean up." Five months in to his eight-month rehabilitation prognosis, Izturis ran for the first time on Wednesday morning. Barring an unforeseen setback, Izturis will be ready for spring training. ' ' '
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