Notre Dame, IN (UHND) – Down by 11 points to Pitt with just under 14 minutes to go and a 34 game home winning streak on the line, things weren’t looking good for the Irish to extend the nation’s 3rd longest home winning streak. That’s when Tory Jackson and Kyle McAlarney sparked an Irish comeback that ended with an 80-72 win over Pittsburgh.
The Panthers were in complete control for the first six minutes of the second half building an 11 point lead at 51-40 before Tory Jackson’s two point jumper brought the deficit back into single digits for good.
Jackson’s best theatrics, however, were yet to been seen. Down five points with just over 8:00 remaining, Jackson came flying down the court and hit a Pitt player’s foot with the ball. Instead of losing the handle on the ball, Jackson regained possession and split two Pitt defenders on his way to an easy layup.
After a defensive stop, Kyle McAlarney hit a NBA range three pointer to cut the Pitt lead to one. Two possessions later McAlarney hit another triple with a Pitt defender right in his face to tie the game at 61 to erase the Panther lead for good.
On Pitt’s next trip down the court, Luke Harangody stepped in front of Tyrell Biggs, stole the ball, and raced down the court for a thunderous dunk that brought the sellout crowd at the Joyce Center to its feet.
McAlarney’s three tied the game, but it was Jackson’s tenacity that made the entire comeback possible. Jackson, the shortest player on the court for the Irish lead the team with a career high 13 rebounds on top of 16 points, 5 assists, and 3 steals.
“It’s a heck of a win for us because there were a lot of times where we got a little frustrated, and you may have thought ‘Well, not tonight,’” said head coach Mike Brey of the win. “But we kept finding a way, and I think Tory Jackson’s will, at key times, make his teammates believe.”
Jackson’s role in the comeback win were not lost on his teammates either. Said senior forward Rob Kurz of the sophomore’s big time performance, “He played unbelievably. He got some loose balls for us and he was all over the place. He just played great and he’s a big reason why we won.”
Jackson wasn’t the only Golden Domer to post some impressive numbers tonight though. Fellow sophomore Luke Harangody rebounded from a poor outing over the weekend at Rutgers with a 23 points, 12 rebound performance – his 15th double-double of the season.
McAlarney, who had a cold first half, ended up with 15 points and Kurz added 14 points of his own.
Notre Dame’s second half comeback was also made possible because of some unbelievable free throw shooting. The Irish hit 18 of 20 free throw attempts (90%) while Pittsburgh connected on just 61% including several key misses by DeJaun Blair down the stretch.
The win moves Notre Dame into second place in the Big East and gives the Irish 20 wins for the fifth time in eight years.
Next up for the Irish is a visit from a Syracuse team which has lost back to back road games at South Florida and at Louisville and three of their last four games overall. Tipoff is 2:00 ET on Sunday and the game will be televised on CBS to most of the country.
