Overtime Thriller Win Against Providence
31st Jan 2008
Notre Dame 81
Providence 74
It was “camo” night tonight at Notre Dame to show support for the Army and Mike Brey who went to Kuwait in 2007. But wow. Notre Dame barely managed to keep their winning streak alive at the Joyce Center tonight and pulled through to beat the Friars in OT. This extends the home winning streak to 32 games, the 3rd longest in the NCAA. The Irish led for most of the game but Providence stayed close at all times and put the game into overtime after two twenty minute halves. The key players of the game for Notre Dame were Luke Harangody and Tory Jackson who both had phenomenal games.
The beginning of the first half started out rough for the Irish with some turnovers and foul trouble, but Luke Harangody stepped up. He had 8 points in a span of 51 seconds and got Notre Dame rolling. They were leading 18-6 at one point due to a pair of McAlarney threes and spread out passing. But once the Irish led 21-9, the Friars punched back with a 13-0 run to gain the lead, 22-21. However, Tory Jackson scored a last second layup to send Notre Dame into the locker room leading 32-31 at the half.
The second half started off well with Harangody’s fourth three-point play of the game only a few seconds in. Tory Jackson began to pick up his play and started taking some more shots like I had suggested in my preview for this match. But big man Ray Hall of Providence was having the biggest game of his career and presenting a challenge for the Notre Dame defense. He finished with ten points, that’s more than he’s scored all season prior to this game (8 points). After making his first two free-throw attempts on the night, he missed the next eight and possibly cost his team the game. Hall could not handle the Irish fans and actually even air-balled one of his free throws. But don’t take anything away from this kid, he played spectacular otherwise.
Providence eventually was leading 61-59 with only 18 seconds left in the second half, but a key steal by Luke Harangody and two made free throws sent the game into OT. Although, with only four seconds left, Tory Jackson stole the ball from Providence and took a deep shot that was straight on but slightly short. So both teams went into overtime tied 61-61 with the momentum in favor of Notre Dame.
Rob Kurz hits a three to start overtime but Dwain Williams responded immediately with one of his many very deep threes. Williams finished with 20 points, 12 of which were from beyond the arc. And than the Irish jumped out to a decent lead, but slipped a little and allowed Providence to get within three points with less than a minute left. But some missed shots by the Friars forced them to foul and put the game out of reach. Tory Jackson made some key free-throws late in the contest to put it away and keep the winning streak alive. The final score after one overtime was 81-74, Notre Dame.
Obviously, the MVP of the game is Luke Harangody who had the highest scoring game of his career. He finished with an impressive 31 points and 14 rebounds. Free-throws were a key to his success as he made 9 of 10 from the line to help assure an Irish victory. Luke once again showed unbelievable strength down low and made some aerobatic shots as well. His spin and fade shot was rather successful tonight when Hall was standing in his way. Once again, if you read my Preview post for this game, I stated that Harangody is going to dominate this game and guide Notre Dame to another victory.
Let’s not forget Tory Jackson though. I was very, very impressed by the way he played and the effort that he put in. He finished with 14 points, second for the team, and seven assists while making some important free-throws down the stretch. Jackson was driving the ball to the basket strong and if the shot wasn’t there, he had Harangody ready for the dunk. Tory must’ve read my blog because he did exactly what I wanted him to do and it worked out well for both him and Notre Dame.
Some negative things. Providence dominated the offensive glass all night and constantly had second or even third attempts at scoring. Notre Dame did a terrible job boxing out the Friars and were out rebounded 41 to 35 tonight. This is highly unusual for the Irish who are one of the top rebounding teams in the nation. You can’t blame this on Luke though, considering he had 14 of the total and even had to deal with a 6′11″ center. Another problem was first half turnovers, Notre Dame had 9. They fixed this problem in the second half though, with only four, a final total of 13. I wouldn’t say that the Irish played well as a team, but they managed to come away with a W.
Some notes. Charlie Weis was at the game supporting the basketball team, while he prepares for Signing Day on the 6th. Luke Harangody is a beast and one of the best players in the Big East, if not the NCAA. Providence had 33 attempts from beyond the arc, only making 8, 24.2%.
Notre Dame moves to 15-4 overall and 5-2 in the Big East which places them solely in second place, only behind Georgetown. Up next for the Irish is DePaul on Saturday in South Bend. Notre Dame will look to extend the streak to 33 and most likely clinch a spot in the rankings. Overall, what an exciting yet nerveracking game to watch, but everything turned out okay in the end. I’ll have a preview for the DePaul game up tomorrow and as always, Go Irish!
