New York, NY (UHND.com) – After Luke Harangody picked up his second foul with more than 10 minutes remaining in the first half of Thursday night’s Big East Quarterfinal contest with against Marquette, it looked like the Irish had dodged a major bullet by building a 6 point lead at halftime despite missing the Big East Player of the Year for most of the half. Unfortunately for the Irish, Marquette caught fire from beyond the arc and owned the glass in the second while coasting to a 89-79 win over Notre Dame.
With Luke Harangody on the bench for much of the first half, Notre Dame used a rotation of Zach Hillesland, Luke Zeller, and Rob Kurz down low to extend their slim one point lead when Harangody left the game to six points at halftime. Hillesland was active on the offensive boards and used a few timely putbacks to help the Irish keep the game in control over the first 20 minutes.
The second half, however, would be a much different story for the Irish. Marquette caught fire from three point range and controlled the flow of the game by outrebounding the bigger, taller Irish. Jerel McNeal led the way for the Golden Eagles with a career high 28 points thanks in large part to four of seven shooting from three point range.
With 8:59 remaining in the game and a seven point lead, Marquette’s Dominic James corralled in a missed Tory Jackson layup to begin one of the game’s most pivotal possessions. The Eagles missed back to back three pointers before Maurice Acker hit a two point jumper with 7:52 remaining.
Marquette took 1:07 off the clock and gave the ball back to a deflated Notre Dame with a nine point lead.
Minutes later, Acker would hit back to back three pointers to extend the Marquette lead to 10 after the Irish had closed the gap to four. Acker, who averaged less than 5 points a game during the regular season, scored all 11 of his points in the second half and his back to back threes appeared to break the will of the Irish team.
Notre Dame made a last ditched comeback attempt in the final two minutes, but could not get any closer than within six. After a Kyle McAlarney three pointer made the score 85-79, Tory Jackson stole the inbound pass but missed an open look from downtown. The Irish got a break when the ball went out of bounds on Marquette after the miss, but Luke Zeller’s three point attempt hit nothing but air.
Notre Dame would not score again over the final forty seconds.
Kyle McAlarney led Notre Dame with 20 points, but had trouble getting open for most of the game and added to his total with two late desperation three pointers.
Harangody, who was named Big East Player of the Year Tuesday, never got into an offensive groove and finished the game with just 13 points and 5 rebounds. His foul trouble limited his effectiveness in the second half, and his night ended a little bit early when he fouled out with 1:20 remaining.
Notre Dame was the 3rd team to lose its first game in the Big East Tourney after receiving a first round bye. Earlier in the day UConn lost to West Virginia and Louisville lost to Pitt in the early night game.
It will be interesting to see what Thursday night’s loss will do to Notre Dame’s seed which had been projected to be a 4 heading into the Big East Tournament. UConn and Louisville losing will help their cause since they will be competing with them for a higher seed, but it’s likely Notre Dame is headed for a 5th seed in one of the dreaded 5/12 match ups.
