Irish Advance With Win Over George Mason

21st Mar 2008

Notre Dame 68
George Mason 50

Notre Dame advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with the win over George Mason last night. The Patriots could never get close in the contest and the Irish kept a commanding lead throughout the entire night. Once ND led 8-7 very early in the first half, they never looked back and remained up by at least 10 points nearly the entire game. It was a complete team effort and each Irish played their part in the victory.

Luke Harangody as usual was the high scorer for Notre Dame, this time with 18 points on 8 of 19 shots from the floor. Obviously not his best game but he played well enough and managed to grab 14 rebounds, 6 of which were offensive. Luke wasn’t able to hit as many shots as he wanted nor get to the free-line as often as he had hoped. He only shot 42.1% and only made two of his five free-throw attempts. But in the end, I’ll take a Notre Dame win over a big Harangody game in a loss any day of the week.

Kyle McAlarney had a typical game with 15 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists. All of those numbers are very close to his season averages. He made 3 of 7 attempts from beyond the arc, which is also pretty normal for him this year. Kyle played 38 of the 40 minutes, more than anyone else, and had zero fouls. He was productive and did what he had to do.

Ryan Ayers had a very nice game coming off of the bench with his 12 points in 25 minutes. He shot 50.0% from the floor on 10 attempts which includes his 2 of 6 shooting from three. He was making his jump shots and making smart decisions. He also had one rebound, one assist, and one steal.

My player of the game is going to have to be Zach Hillesland. He only finished with 6 points but he sure did make a big difference in this game. He made 3 of his 4 shot attempts in 31 minutes played while doing everything else right. He grabbed a season high 11 rebounds in the game while dishing out five assists. He played extremely well on defense with a blocked shot and three steals. Definitely one of Zach’s best games this year even with only six points the entire night.

Tory Jackson had an “OK” game with 6 points and only two assists in 36 minutes. He did however manage to bring in 8 rebounds, something he has done very well as a point guard. I am amazed at how he does this each and every game at only 5′11″. Rob Kurz also had 6 points in the win before he fouled out. He hit two shots from beyond the arc which kept the Irish ahead.

The other contributors were Luke Zeller with 3 points and freshman Tim Abromaitis with 2 points in the last minute of the game. Other players who saw playing time were sophomore Jonathan Peoples, freshman Ty Proffitt, and freshman Tyrone Nash. They all checked into the game with a few seconds remaining.

George Masons offense was led by senior forward Will Thomas who had a game high 25 points as well as 7 boards. No one else on the Patriots finished in double digits. They were obviously outmatched and had no chance of winning this game. They just didn’t have enough talent and could never get into any rhythm which is extremely difficult against an excellent offensive team such as the Irish. Thankfully, George Mason didn’t pull the upset like they did two years ago and are heading home in the first round. Best of luck to them next season.

Notre Dame Statistics

Field Goals Made - Attempts: 26 - 57
Field Goal Percentage: 45.6%
Free-Throws Made - Attempts: 7 - 11
Free-Throw Percentage: 63.6%
Rebounds: 42 (11 Offensive)
Assists: 14
Personal Fouls: 15
Turnovers: 12
Blocked Shots: 5
Steals: 4
3-Point Field Goals Made - Attempts: 9 - 21
3-Point Field Goal Percentage: 42.9%

George Mason Statistics

Field Goals Made - Attempts: 19 - 57
Field Goal Percentage: 33.3%
Free-Throws Made - Attempts: 9 - 14
Free-Throw Percentage: 64.3%
Rebounds: 31 (8 Offensive)
Assists: 8
Personal Fouls: 14
Turnovers: 11
Blocked Shots: 2
Steals: 5
3-Point Field Goals Made - Attempts: 3 - 17
3-Point Field Goal Percentage: 17.6%

Up next for Mike Brey and the Fighting Irish is Washington State tomorrow at 6:40 PM ET. I’ll have a preview for that game sometime tomorrow and a look at the East Region later on today. Check back for updates and as always, Go Irish!

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