DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — Paul Atkinson Jr.’s putback layup with 1.4 seconds left in the second overtime gave Notre Dame an 89-87 win over Rutgers in a wild First Four game Wednesday night.

Ron Harper Jr. tied it with a long 3-pointer with 22 seconds left in the second OT. Notre Dame’s Blake Wesley then missed a shot before Atkinson grabbed the rebound and put back the winner.

Atkinson finished with 20 points, Nate Laszewski 18 and Cormac Ryan 16 to lead the Irish (23-10), who as the No. 11 seed advance to face sixth-seeded Alabama in a a first-round game Friday in San Diego.

Caleb McConnell had career-high 23 points and Ron Harper Jr. 22 for the Scarlet Knights (18-11).

Both teams shot a respectable 51% for the game.

McConnell scored 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the floor as Rutgers built a 41-36 lead at the half. He put the finishing touches on the scoring before intermission, going the length of the court and putting up a fast-break layup at the buzzer.

Rutgers went up by eight to open the second half on Harper’s 3-pointer, but Notre Dame chipped away. The Irish got up by as many as five late before the game got tight again.

Geo Baker’s 3-pointer tied it at 69 for Rutgers with 1:24 left. Rutgers got the ball back, but Harper and Baker both missed shots that would have given the Scarlet Knights the win in regulation.

BIG PICTURE

Notre Dame: Fought back from a halftime deficit, wouldn’t go away and finally found a way to win it.

Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights played well enough to win, but didn’t take advantage of chances to put away the Irish.

UP NEXT

Notre Dame advances to a first-round game Friday against No. 6 Alabama in San Diego.

Wednesday’s Game

Notre Dame 89,

Rutgers 87, 2OT

NOTRE DAME (23-10)

Atkinson 13-15 0-2 26, Goodwin 4-7 2-3 12, Hubb 3-12 3-4 9, Ryan 7-12 0-0 16, Wesley 4-17 0-2 8, Laszewski 6-8 4-5 18, Wertz 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 37-72 9-16 89.

RUTGERS (18-14)

Omoruyi 7-9 1-2 15, Baker 7-19 2-3 19, McConnell 10-12 1-1 23, Mulcahy 3-11 0-0 8, Harper 9-14 0-0 22, Hyatt 0-4 0-0 0, Mag 0-2 0-0 0, Reiber 0-0 0-0 0, Miller 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 36-71 4-6 87.

Halftime–Rutgers 41-36. 3-Point Goals–Notre Dame 6-19 (Goodwin 2-2, Laszewski 2-4, Ryan 2-6, Wesley 0-3, Hubb 0-4), Rutgers 11-27 (Harper 4-7, Baker 3-8, McConnell 2-3, Mulcahy 2-5, Hyatt 0-2, Mag 0-2). Rebounds–Notre Dame 29 (Atkinson, Wesley, Laszewski 6), Rutgers 41 (McConnell 11). Assists–Notre Dame 17 (Hubb 7), Rutgers 23 (Mulcahy 6). Total Fouls–Notre Dame 8, Rutgers 15.