PITTSBURGH (AP) -- No matter what defense Pitt tried against

Chris Quinn, no matter what defender was used against him, he made

shots -- some from beyond the NBA's 3-point range. But on a night no

lead was safe against Notre Dame and its Quinn-led comebacks, what

proved the Irish's undoing was their inability to hold one of their

few leads.

Ronald Ramon hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in

the second overtime and Pittsburgh (No. 20 ESPN/USA Today; No. 22 AP) withstood Quinn's 37

points and frantic Notre Dame rallies at the end of regulation and

the first overtime for a 100-97 victory Wednesday night.

"We could have folded a half-dozen times and said it wasn't our

night, but we never did," said a drained and disappointed Mike

Brey, the Notre Dame coach. "I just wish we could have gotten him

a win."

The Irish almost did, improbably, in a game they trailed by nine

points in the final 45 seconds of regulation and seven points with

a minute left in the first overtime.

"It's hard to say you played good defense when somebody scores

37 points, but I thought we did," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said.

"I'm sure I'll see that guy scoring in my head the rest of the

night. The guy made some unbelievable shots."

Aaron Gray scored a career-high 25 points and Carl Krauser added

21 points before fouling out late in regulation, but it was

freshman Sam Young who did much of unbeaten Pitt's important

scoring. He had only two points until late in the second half, but

finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds as Pitt opened a season

12-0 for only the fifth time in its 100 years of basketball.

Levance Fields, another freshman who took over the offense after

Krauser fouled out, scored 11 points.

"It was just a classic college basketball game," Krauser said.

"And our young guys came through."

Quinn, a senior, scored 30 of his 37 points after halftime,

including a remarkable 16 consecutive Irish points late in the

second half. Notre Dame, which came in on a seven-game winning

streak, rallied to tie it at 77 on two late 3-pointers by Colin

Falls.

And, if one comeback wasn't enough, Quinn then hit a 3-pointer

and a driving layup in the final 18 seconds of the first overtime

to force another 5 minutes in the Big East Conference opener for

both teams. The Irish (9-3) took advantage of Pitt's 8-of-15 free

throw shooting in the first overtime to surge from behind.

Quinn was 6-of-9 from 3-point range while going 13-of-23

overall, and made all five free throws. He has 62 points in his

last two games at Pitt, both losses.

"I haven't had a game like that since high school," said

Quinn, whose previous career high was 26 against Michigan earlier

this season.

But after rallying repeatedly in their fourth consecutive loss

in Pittsburgh, the Irish couldn't hold a 97-94 lead created by Luke

Zeller's dunk with 2:20 left in the second overtime. Young scored

inside to cut it to 97-96 and, after Quinn lost his dribble and

Pitt stole the ball, Ramon -- who had 12 points -- hit his 3-pointer

only a few feet in front of Pitt's bench to win it. Gray added a

free throw with 6 seconds remaining.

"There was no other option -- my shot was what we planned for,"

Ramon said of his 3-pointer. "It was tough not having Carl in the

overtime."

Quinn's second excellent game in Pittsburgh in as many seasons --

he had 25 in a 68-66 loss last season -- was one of the best

individual efforts by a visiting player since Pitt moved into the

Big East 24 years ago, but couldn't prevent the Irish's sixth loss

in its last seven to Pitt.

Gray, a 7-foot junior taking advantage of Notre Dame's

undersized frontline, had scored more than 17 points only once

previously, getting 22 against St. Francis, N.Y. earlier this

season. Krauser followed up a 22-point game in a 73-64 win over

then-No. 24 Wisconsin, the only Top 25 team Pitt has faced.

Pittsburgh, playing its first game this season as a ranked team,

overcame Notre Dame's excellent 3-point shooting at the start -- the

Irish hit five of their first six beyond the arc -- to lead 34-30 at

halftime. The Panthers pushed their lead to 45-36 after Krauser

scored seven consecutive Pitt points on a 3-pointer and four free

throws.

But the Irish went on a 9-1 run to take a 50-49 lead on Russell

Carter's free throw. Carter had 16 points and Zeller added 11.