Irish Stun Hoyas
UHND.com - Andrew Amato
Irish eyes were smiling upon the MCI Center in Washington, D.C. on Saturday. Keyed by a stingy defense and tremendous rebounding, Notre Dame knocked off the Georgetown Hoyas 78-71 in Big East Conference play.
The win vaults the Irish (13-5, 5-2) into first place in the West Division of the Big East Conference. Georgetown (16-2, 4-2) has now dropped two straight conference games after opening the season 16-0.
After knotting the game at 2-2 early on, the Irish were never able to take the lead until there was less than 4:30 remaining in the game. More importantly, Troy Murphy was on the bench.
With 4:30 left, Troy Murphy was called for his fifth foul, just 38 seconds after being whistled for his 4th foul. Georgetown fans and students taunted Murphy as he left the floor, but he would get the last word, which was a huge win for the Irish. The game was tied 59-59, for the first time since the first minute of the game. Notre Dame would proceed to go on a 10-0 run sparked by Ryan Humphrey's 3 points, and Harold Swanagan's 7 points. Swanagan was 5-5 from the charity stripe during the 10-0 run. With 1:05 remaining, freshman Mike Sweetney completed a 3 point play for the Hoyas. That was the first field goal the Hoyas had made since 6:37 of the first half.
With the nation's biggest cheerleader on the bench, the Irish drilled 17 of 21 free throws over the final 7:23 of the game.
Georgetown led at halftime by the score of 36-30. The Hoyas gained their largest lead of the game quickly in the 2nd half at 41-32. Notre Dame hung around the in the first 15 minutes of the second half, then seized the lead with a bang. David Graves, Martin Ingelsby, and Matt Carroll each connected on 3 pointers to tie the game.
Despite fouling out with 4:30 to go, Troy Murphy finished the game with 16 points and 4 rebounds. David Graves had 15 points, including consecutive three pointers that sparked the 28-14 run to end the game. Matt Carroll finished with 13 points, 4 rebounds, and Harold Swanagan had 11 points and 6 rebounds. Martin Ingelsby chipped in 6 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists.
In a total team effort for the Irish, David Graves also grabbed 5 rebounds and played harrassing defense, forcing several Hoya turnovers.
Georgetown was led by Lee Scruggs who totalled 17 points and 6 rebounds. Kevin Brasswell added 11 points and 9 assists for the Hoyas. Wesley Wilson added 10 points.
The Irish owned the stats as they shot better from the field than Georgetown, and also outrebounded them.
Notre Dame has its first 4 game conference winning streak since joining the Big East Conference in 1995.
Notre Dame has a week off until they travel to Fitzgerald Field House in Pittsburgh, PA on Saturday, February 3rd to battle the Pittsburgh Panthers (11-7, 3-4) at 7:30 p.m.
The Irish played their two best games of the season, against the two best teams they've played this season. Hopefully, these wins versus Syracuse and Georgetown will give Mike Brey's crew a great amount of momentum.
College basketball analysts and fans alike have harped on the Irish for not playing up to their capabilities because they had no great wins. To notch 2 wins versus Top 15 foes proves them all wrong.