What makes the rivalry even more peculiar

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NEW YORK -- It looked like Ohio States winning streak to start the season was over. The third-ranked Buckeyes were down eight points to Notre Dame with less than 2 minutes to play and their offence was nowhere to be found. They still had their tough defence and somehow they were able to turn the game completely around and beat the Fighting Irish 64-61 on Saturday night in the BlackRock Gotham Classic at Madison Square Garden. "I dont really know what happened. It was a big blur," Ohio State senior guard Aaron Craft said. "We never stopped. We never gave up. Guys were running around getting tips and guys made big free throws." While a few players did come up with big defensive plays, it was mostly one guy who made the free throws for the Buckeyes (12-0). Lenzelle Smith Jr. scored seven of his nine points in the final 33 seconds -- including going 5 of 5 at the line -- to lead the rally. "Im still trying to figure out what happened," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. "My mind was fixated on if we wanted to foul with the time situation or do we play it out defensively and all of a sudden it was closer and closer and closer and we get the lead. It happened quick, It was a great win." The Buckeyes went 9:10 without a field goal and at one point were 6 of 21 from the field as Notre Dame (8-4) opened what seemed to be a comfortable lead late. Jerian Grant hit a 3-pointer as the shot clock was expiring to give the Fighting Irish a 58-50 advantage with 1:54 to play. "I am so thoroughly disappointed," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. "We had such a good chance at such a great win." The Buckeyes turned up the defensive intensity and they converted consecutive steals into a 58-56 deficit with 40 seconds to go. Demetrius Jackson made two free throws for Notre Dame a second later. Smith was fouled taking a 3-pointer and he made all three free throws to bring Ohio State within 60-59 with 32 seconds left. Steve Vasturia, who was in the game because point guard Eric Atkins had fouled out, missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 31 seconds left, his first free throw attempt of the season. Smith scored down low on a nice pass by Craft to give the Buckeyes a 61-60 lead with 16 seconds to go. After a Notre Dame turnover, Smith made two free throws for a 63-60 lead with 9.8 seconds left. Grant made one free throw with 6.7 seconds left and Craft made one free throw with 3.3 seconds left. Jackson missed a potential tying 3 as the buzzer sounded. "They really turned the heat up on us and flustered us. We had a hard time doing anything right," Brey said. "We didnt have Atkins but the other guys should have handled it better." LaQuinton Ross had 16 points and 11 rebounds for Ohio State while Amir Williams had 13 points and Shannon Scott and Craft both added 10. Grant had 18 points for Notre Dame, which committed five of its 13 turnovers in the final 2 minutes, while Garrick Sherman had 14 and Pat Connaughton 13. "Im a senior and I have to find a way to not turn the ball over when we didnt have our point guard in there," Grant said. The Buckeyes shot 34.5 per cent in the second half (10 of 29, including missing all nine 3-point attempts). They went 9:10 without a field goal in the second half, and thats when Notre Dame opened a 52-44 lead with 5:33 to play. Williams dunked on the next possession to end Ohio States long drought. "They packed that zone in and I dont think we were trusting the system as much as we needed to," Craft said. "We took some bad shots and didnt attack. We were letting the missing offensively affect us defensively and let that get tied together and thats not what good teams do." Notre Dame opened the second half on a 9-2 run that tied the game at 35. 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Anthony Barr Vikings Jersey . LOUIS -- The St.There was nothing second-rate about their performance, but second place is where Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir find themselves following their short program in the ice dance event on Sunday. Following a pattern that has become all too familiar for the defending Olympic champions, the American team of Meryl Davis and Charlie White bested Virtue and Moir by a margin of 2.56 points at the Iceberg Skating Palace in Sochi to take top spot. Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov fed off the pro-Russian crowd and tallied a 73.04, putting them in bronze-medal position heading into Mondays free dance (10:00 a.m. ET, streaming live at cbc.ca/olympics). Virtue and Moir, skating to Ella Fitzgeralds Dream a Little Dream of Me, put their slip-up in the team event far in the rear view mirror with a seemingly flawless performance, carving perfect turns, nailing their rotational lifts and staying in sync during their twizzle sequences. As the music ended and they struck their final pose, Moir let out a triumphant "Yes!", knowing that the skate represented one of their best performances of the season. Their joy was short-lived though, as their score of 76.33 came in below their season best score of 77.59 at the Grand Prix Finals in December, leaving the door wide open for the reigning world champions Davis and White, who set a new short dance world record with a score of 78.89. Canadas other medal hopefuls, Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje, skated a strong routine that earned them a 65.93, good for seventh place. The third Canadian entry, featuring Toronto-born Alexandra Paul and Barries Mitchell Islam, skated a light, airy and up-tempo routine, marred only by a small bobble on the opening twizzle by Paul. The 2010 world junior silver medallists finished with a score of 55.91, putting them in 18th place. Virtue and Moir have some work to do to catch the leaders, but they were still happy with how the day unfolded. "It was a really fun performance," the 24-year-old Virtue told CBC Sports. "Obviously, you are here to defend your title. You also want to have fun. You still love what you do." Moir, 26, said that it was this type of performance that has kept them going for the last four years. "Its definitely the reason we keep going. To be on this stage representing Canada, its a huge thing forr Tessa and I to be part of a fantastic Olympic Canadian team.dddddddddddd" Moir added that they still get plenty of enjoyment out of competitions like these. "We love what we do. We love skating together. We have a lot of special moments, and that was one of them." Sundays short dance marked the third head-to-head battle between the Canadians and Americans at these Olympics. Davis and White beat Virtue and Moir by three points in the short dance portion of the team event early in the Games, and repeated the feat in the free dance portion with a seven-point victory. The two rivals bring contrasting styles to the sport. Virtue and Moir boast an elegant and flowing style, and a sense of unison that no other team can match, thanks to nearly 17 years as an on-ice tandem. Davis and White, on the other hand, typically display a faster and bolder technique than the Canadian duo, albeit one with arguably less precision. Virtue and Moir have laid claim to an Olympic gold medal in Vancouver, two world titles and six Canadian championships during their careers, but theyve consistently come up short against the American pair over the past two seasons, including at the 2013 world championship in Virtues hometown of London, Ont. What makes the rivalry even more peculiar, if not slightly peculiar, is the fact they share not only the same training facility in Canton, Mich., but also the same coach and choreographer, Russian-born Marina Zoueva. Zoueva has coached Davis and White for the past 14 years, and has been working with Virtue and Moir for 10 years. While they arent close friends with the Americans off the ice, Virtue and Moir have often said that they have a good relationship with them and that both sides enjoy the friendly rivalry. Another storyline that has surrounded the athletes since the team event, an alleged judging scandal, has fortunately faded into the background. During the opening weekend, the French sports publication LEquipe had reported that the American and Russian judges were conspiring against Canada in order to assure a gold medal for Russia in the team competition and gold for the U.S., in ice dancing. Despite being at the centre of the controversy, Virtue and Moir insist that the rumours havent affected their focus on or off the ice. China Jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '