SOUTH BEND - North Carolina might be higher ranked but Notre Dame was the better team on Saturday.

The Fighting Irish put together a solid effort and posted an 80-76 comeback victory Saturday over second-ranked North Carolina at Purcell Pavilion.

Fans stormed the court after the Irish stormed back from a 15-point deficit.

Notre Dame improves to 16-7 and 7-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. North Carolina falls to 19-4, 8-2.

Five Irish players scored in double figures, led by Bonzie Colson's 19.

Freshman Rex Pflueger gave the Irish a 71-67, with 3:26 left. The lead reached five on a Zach Auguste layup with 2:16 remaining.

After being so decidedly lopsided in the first half, the second 20 minutes featured six ties in a span of less than five minutes. Notre Dame took a three-point lead with just over five minutes remaining on Demetrius Jackson's fadeaway jumper from the baseline.

Down by as many as 15 in a sluggish first half, Notre Dame tied it at 48 with 12:23 remaining following a pair of V.J. Beachem free throws. Beachem had a chance to give the Irish their first lead next time down, but his 3-point attempt from the top of the key rattled around and out.

Notre Dame finally got the lead, however briefly, on a Jackson drive with 9:25 remaining. It also was career points 999 and 1,000 for Jackson, who became the 58th player in school history to hit that mark.

The Irish offense and the building finally came to life with just over 14 minutes remaining and the home team still down eight and scrambling to figure something, anything out.

Steve Vasturia then knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner - the first one for the Irish after six misses. And when Jackson tipped in a missed 3 from Beachem, Notre Dame was as close as it had been in seemingly forever, down three with 13:14 and the joint jumping.

North Carolina jumped to an early big lead and led by as many as 15 points in the first 20 minutes thanks to some sizzling shooting from Marcus Paige. The senior guard came into the contest shooting 22.6 percent from 3, but connected on four of his first five attempts to help the Tar Heels take a 39-30 lead at intermission.

Notre Dame was lucky to be down nine in its own building because for one of the few times this season, one of the nation's most efficient offenses struggled to get anything going. The Irish were rushed in shots at the rim and couldn't connect on any of their five 3-pointers.

Had it not been for Auguste and his 13 first-half points, this one would have gotten really lopsided. Instead, the Irish had a chance.

Notre Dame went 9-of-33 (27.3 percent) from the field and 0-for-6 from 3.

NOTES: Irish senior captain A.J. Burgett was unavailable for Saturday's game after suffering a sprained ankle Friday in practice. Burgett had started previous two games and was expected to start against the Tar Heels. ... Saturday was the only regular-season meeting between the teams. Notre Dame won both games last year, which included its first-ever win in Chapel Hill and a victory in the ACC tournament championship in Greensboro, N.C., for the school's first-ever league championship victory. ... The Tar Heels played in South Bend as the nation's No. 1 team on Feb. 1, 1987. The Irish won that game 60-58. ... Saturday was the second of three straight conference road games for North Carolina, which had lost all three games away from home.