February 28, 2026; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Brayden Shrewsbury (11) drives while NC State Wolfpack forward Darrion Williams (1) defends in the first half at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Image Cole Certa scored 12 of his 32 points in overtime to lead Notre Dame to a surprising 96-90 win over North Carolina State on Saturday afternoon in South Bend, Indiana.
It was Certa’s second 30-plus point scoring in the last four games. After the Fighting Irish (13-16, 4-12 Atlantic Coast Conference) failed to lead in regulation, they took their first lead on a 3-pointer by Certa to open OT and took the lead for good on a second boundary shot on the ensuing possession.
Certa went 9 of 17 from the floor, including 6 of 10 3s. Jalen Haralson scored 25 points, including the team’s other three points in overtime, hitting 8 of 15 field goals and 9 of 10 free throws.
Braeden Shrewsberry scored 16 points with five rebounds and three assists, and Sir Mohammed scored all 10 of his points in the first half for Notre Dame, which sparked a significant comeback in Charlotte that raised hopes of advancing to the ACC Tournament.
Ven-Allen Lubin scored a season-high 24 points with 10 rebounds for NC State (19-10, 10-6), which has lost four of its last five games to get a step closer to the postseason bubble.
Quadir Copeland had 17 points and nine assists, and Darion Williams added 17 points on 7-of-17 shooting, including 10-point shooting from 3-point range.
Notre Dame held a 40-32 rebounding advantage, a 38-15 edge in bench points and a 16-2 lead in fast break points, shooting 52.5% from the field and 48% from 3-point range (12 of 25).
NC State went scoreless for the final 3 minutes, 23 seconds of regulation, and Notre Dame went on a 7-0 run to close a nine-point deficit with 4:46 left. Haralson scored six points in the period, including a tying free throw with 19 seconds left to tie the game at 81 heading into OT.
NC State jumped out to an 11-2 lead and never trailed at halftime. But the Fighting Irish fought back to tie the game at 25.
The Wolfpack immediately jumped out to an 8-0 lead, but Notre Dame again never allowed the two teams to completely separate, making their last five shots down 44-38 at halftime.
NC State also led throughout the second half in response to a Notre Dame surge, but was unable to extend the lead to double digits. The Fighting Irish cut the deficit to one point three times before finally tying the score on a late free throw by Haralson, who returned from an ankle injury on Feb. 10.
–Field level media
