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SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- 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. Danny Rose England Jersey .J. -- The New York Jets have promoted Tony Sparano Jr. John Stones Jersey .C. - Nick Merkley and Damon Severson each had a goal and two assists as the Kelowna Rockets downed the visiting Seattle Thunderbirds 6-3 on Saturday in Western Hockey League playoff action. http://www.englandsoccerpro.com/Dele-Alli-England-Jersey/.J. -- Jaromir Jagr has hit so many NHL milestones this season for the New Jersey Devils that he is starting to downplay them. England Soccer Jerseys . - The Kansas City Royals are hoping All-Star catcher Salvador Perez will be back in a few days. Fabian Delph Jersey . Goodell said in an ESPN Radio interview Monday (http://es.pn/1gkbauy ) that participants played harder and made the game very competitive. Goodell says he had fun watching the game Sunday and thinks fans did, too.GREEN BAY, Wis. - Newly picked to the Pro Bowl, Aaron Rodgers practiced on his sore left calf Wednesday before returning to a locker room full of Christmas gifts.Brand new 55-inch curved screen televisions sat in cardboard boxes, tokens of appreciation from the Packers franchise quarterback to the offensive line and backup QBs.As if the linemen needed any more motivation to protect Rodgers from the fearsome defensive front of the Detroit Lions on Sunday.Its pretty amazing. Pretty thankful that Aaron did something like that, rookie centre Corey Linsley said. I mean, just the way he plays, and the way everybody plays around here, the level of excellence especially by him — you want to play as well as you can for him.Keeping Rodgers clean and upright will be especially important with tackle Ndamukong Suh leading Detroits defensive charge into Lambeau Field.Rodgers was limited in practice with a sore left calf that he strained during Sundays win over Tampa Bay. He is also getting over a lingering head cold that has slowed him down since last week.Coach Mike McCarthy said Rodgers took snaps and threw the ball around, including in no-huddle drills.He basically got done what he needed to get done today and hes getting better, McCarthy said.How Rodgers feels Sunday will be most important to Green Bay, which can claim its fourth straight NFC North title and a first-round bye by beating Detroit.Otherwise, the Packers were mostly healthy at practice. Guards T.J. Lang (ankle) and Josh Sitton (toe) were limited, as usual, with lingering injuries. Linebacker Clay Matthews was limited with a biceps injury, though that has been a lingering injury as well.Sitton and Matthews were also picked to the Pro Bowl roster Tuesday night, along with receiver Jordy Nelson and fullback John KKuhn.dddddddddddd.Sitton has had a painful season after injuring his left big toe two months ago against New Orleans. This will be his second Pro Bowl. In 2012, though, he made it as an alternate.Sitton said he can cross one of his career goals off his list. What makes Sittons season even more impressive is that hes playing between left tackle David Bakhtiari, a second-year player, and rookie centre Linsley.It doesnt surprise me at all. We watch a lot of film of a lot of guys, and I havent really seen anybody better, Linsley said. I say it all the time, but something that goes understated is how intelligent he is.Now theyve got to figure out how to stop Suh, who has 8 1/2 sacks, four in his last three games. Lang called the 6-foot-4, 305-pound Suh a complete player.If hes in there, its a battle from whistle to whistle, from snap to the whistle, Lang said.The Packers right guard was also fighting what appeared to be a cold. Hell likely relish Christmas Day off while trying to find a place for the new television supplied by Rodgers.The players apparently didnt know that reporters would be in the locker room on Christmas Eve. The TVs arrived Tuesday night, and the ever-private Rodgers likely didnt want people outside the team to know about the gifts, Sitton said.Hes a hell of a dude, and weve had a hell of a year for each other. He just wanted to thank us, Sitton said. We appreciate being appreciated.Notes: Nelson made his first Pro Bowl, while Kuhn made his second. Rodgers has made four Pro Bowls, while Matthews has one more appearance. ... LB Mike Neal (abdomen) was limited in practice, while CB Davon House did not participate. He hasnt been cleared from a right shoulder injury.___Online: AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '