Notre Dame Seniors Keep on Winning, Down Pitt

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IRISH LIVE TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY

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NEW YORK -- The winningest senior class in Notre Dame history is not quite done winning yet.

The seventh-seeded Fighting Irish defeated No. 2 seed Pittsburgh 50-45, in Thursday's quarterfinals of the Big East tournament.

And, once again, it was Luke Harangody coming off the bench to lead the Irish. Harangody had 12 points in only 22 minutes.

His biggest contributions came with 16 seconds remaining when he rebounded a Pittsburgh miss, was fouled and hit both free throws giving Notre Dame a 49-45 lead. On the Irish's previous possession, Harangody committed a turnover giving the Panthers a chance to tie but Jermaine Dixon missed.

"You know, for Luke to bounce back after traveling when we go to him in a big possession and come back and make the two free throws, just kind of tells you the kind of guy he is," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said.


In Tuesday's opening game against Seton Hall, Harangody came off the bench and had 20 points and 10 rebounds in 24 minutes.

Notre Dame held Pittsburgh to 38.6 percent shooting, a night after limiting Seton Hall to 34.5 percent shooting. Brey said the Irish's defensive success can be attributed to Notre Dame's deliberate pace on offense.

"We probably have more energy to play because we don't have to guard as many possessions throughout the game," Brey said. "And we're confident because we're getting stops in a shorter number of possessions. I know there's a commitment, too, maybe a renewed commitment."

Besides Harangody, Tory Jackson had 12 points. The Irish also had assists on 14 of their 18 field goals.

Notre Dame's victory was its second in 11 days against the Panthers, who are 7-2 in their last nine games with both losses to the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame's senior class of Harangody, Jackson, Tim Andree and Jonathan Peoples is 93-41 all-time.

Brad Wanamaker had 16 for the Panthers and Jermaine Dixon added 10. Pitt trailed by as many as eight in the first half, but never could pull even in the second half and was always playing from behind.

"I wouldn't say it's difficult [adjusting to Notre Dame's style], it's something we have to adjust to," Wanamaker said. "I think we did a good job. We missed some layups."

Jermaine Dixon said the Panthers didn't shoot particularly well.

"I think we did a pretty good job at attacking them and getting driving kick outs or drive to the lane and feeding our big men," Dixon said. "Even going up to try to finish. We just didn't make shots that we usually make."

ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK

Pittsburgh was the third consecutive top four seed that got bounced in its first game. Losing this early won't hurt the Panthers much and actually could help them stay fresh for the upcoming NCAA Tournament. "We'll get better for it, I think," Pitt coach Jamie Dixon said. "I think we have a couple of days to prepare. We'll get ready and find out who we play [in the NCAA tournament] on Sunday. That's why I told the guys afterward this is disappointing. But as we know, we need to be ready for Sunday. And that's the most important thing at this point right now."

STAT OF THE GAME

1: Number of former Presidents on hand for the Notre Dame-Pittsburgh game as Bill Clinton watched in the same box with Big East commissioner John Marinatto.

SOUNDBITE

"I guess when your life is on the line, you're really good at it." -- Notre Dame coach Mike Brey about the Fighting Irish's interior defense and ball-screen defense.

UP NEXT

Notre Dame will play West Virginia in Friday's 9:30 p.m. semifinal.

Contact FanHouse senior writer Brett McMurphy at brettmcmurphy@gmail.com