Ricky Shields scored 21 points, including the first four of Rutgers’s game closing 8-0 run, and the Scarlet Knights beat Notre Dame 72-65 last night in the opening round of the Big East tournament.

The win advanced 11th-seeded Rutgers (10-18) to a matchup with third seeded and 16th-ranked Syracuse (24-6) in the quarterfinals tonight at Madison Square Garden.

The loss may have ended the NCAA tournament at-large hopes for Notre Dame (17-11),which has lost four of five.

Shields scored on a drive with 1:15 left to give Rutgers the lead for good at 66-65. He then stole the ball from Colin Falls and went the length of the court for a layup with 57 seconds left.

Notre Dame, which took its last lead at 65-64 on a 3-pointer by Russell Carter with 1:37 to play, missed its last seven shots and had the turnover by Falls. Rutgers closed the game by going 4-for-5 from the free throw line over the final 32 seconds.

Quincy Douby added 15 points for Rutgers, who had lost three straight and six of seven, including a 66-56 loss at Notre Dame on March 2.

Torin Francis had a season-high 21 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Irish, while Chris Thomas had 17 points and Carter added a season-high 12.

The win snapped a four-game losing streak in the Big East tournament for Rutgers, which last won a game in 1999.

***

WEST VIRGINIA 82, PROVIDENCE 59

In other first-round action, West Virginia snapped a seven-game losing streak in the Big East tournament, beating Providence 82-59. Kevin Pittsnogle scored 24 points, including five 3-pointers, leading the eighth-seeded Mountaineers (19-9) into a quarterfinal showdown today with top-seeded and seventh-ranked Boston College (24-3).

The win over Providence may have sealed an NCAA at-large berth for West Virginia, which had won seven of nine, a stretch that included two victories over Pittsburgh.

Ryan Gomes had 20 points in his final game for Providence (14-17). An All-America last season, the senior forward led the Big East in scoring this season (22.3) and finished as the Friars’ all-time leading scorer with 2,138 points.

West Virginia took control in the first half with runs of 8-0 and 13-1, the latter giving the Mountaineers a 28-9 lead. Patrick Beilein, who finished with 13 points, had three 3-pointers in the run. Providence, which has lost six of its last seven Big East tournament games, got within 46-34 on a layup by Gomes with 13:48 to play. J.D. Collins then hit a 3 to start a 9-0 run by the Mountaineers, and the closest the Friars got the rest of the way was 15 points.

***

GEORGETOWN 56, SETON HALL 51

Darrell Owens scored all 14 of his points over the final 8 minutes, and Georgetown snapped a five-game losing streak with a 56-51 come-from-behind victory over Seton Hall.

The seventh-seeded Hoyas (17-11) had to win to have any chance at an at large berth in the NCAA tournament. Their next opponent, however, is second-seeded Connecticut (21-6) in tonight’s quarterfinals.

Owens, a senior averaging 5.6 points, went 4-for-4 on 3-pointers in his scoring stretch. His first 3 ended a 7:42 drought without a field goal for the Hoyas and brought them within 44-36 with 7:59 left.

His third 3 came with 3:37 left and brought Georgetown within 49-46.

His last 3-pointer gave the Hoyas the lead for good at 51-49 with 1:02 left. Brandon Bowman added two free throws with 25 seconds left to cap Georgetown'[s 12-0 run that made it 53-49.

Seton Hall (12-16) finally broke its 4-minute scoring drought with 18 seconds left when Jamar Nutter made two free throws. Nutter had 12 points for the Pirates, who ended the season losing six of seven and nine of 11.

– Associated Press