Notre Dame guard Prentiss Hubb apologizes for post-game gesture

The apology went out on social media early Wednesday afternoon after the middle finger went up at Greensboro (N.C.) Coliseum late Tuesday night.

Notre Dame guard/captain Prentiss Hubb offered an apology after cameras caught the junior extending his middle finger toward someone in the lower level of seats following a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from guard Trey Wertz for an 80-77 victory.

“I would like to apologize for my actions after the Wake Forest game last night,” Hubb wrote Wednesday. “I let my emotions get the best of me and want to say sorry for not representing ND to the best of my ability. As a leader of the team I have to stay level headed and will make sure I do that in the future. Me doing that took away from how great a shot my brother Trey made and thats (sic) in no way what I wanted to do.”

Hubb, who’s often the lightning rod for opposing fans, was seen on television reacting to something/someone in the lower section of seats on more than one occasion in the second half. Hubb has often said that having the crowd on him helps him play better.

“You bring the same intensity regardless of whether the fans are there or not,” Hubb said earlier this year about playing in front of near-empty arenas.

Tuesday’s game had an announced crowd of 2,820, the third largest to see an Irish game this season. A good portion of Wake Forest fans were scattered throughout the lower bowl of the Coliseum. The fake crowd noise that’s been piped into many arenas this season was used Tuesday, but at far lower levels, to the point where it was hard to tell on television that it was used at all.

“There was a great energy in the building and it was a road atmosphere,” Irish coach Mike Brey said afterward. “The Wake fans really helped their team believe. It was a Wake home crowd. They were a factor in the game. We haven’t played in that much.”

After going scoreless in the first half, Hubb, a third team All-ACC selection, finished with 14 points, three rebounds and four assists in 38 minutes as the Irish erased a 12-point deficit over the final 7:17 to win an ACC tournament game for the seventh straight season.

“After a very tough first half, you can’t keep a winner like that down for 40 minutes,” Brey said.

Hubb, who leads the Irish in points (14.6), assists (5.96) and minutes (37.4) was not expected to face any disciplinary actions from Brey heading into Wednesday’s second-round tournament game against No. 6 seed North Carolina. That game was scheduled to tip at 9 p.m.