Fighting Irish outlast Friars in overtime
Notre Dame was able to outlast Providence in overtime 81-74 on Thursday night, behind 31 points and 14 rebounds from Luke Harangody. Ryan Ayers picked up the slack with 10 points, as well as Tory Jackson, who added 14. Jackson and Ayers elevated the Irish offense without Kyle McAlarney and Rob Kurz, who were 5-of-19 combined shooting for 19 points.
Despite five players in double figures, with Dwain Williams leading the way with 20, Providence lost this one at the free throw line. The Friars were just 6-of-16 from the line, with center Ray Hall struggling the most, going 2-of-10 from the line. Hall had a chance to put Providence up four with a minute left but bricked a one-and-one chance from the line. After a couple Irish misses, Providence appeared poised to win, but Harangody came up with a huge steal from Geoff McDermott and Harangody sunk both from the line to tie the game up at 61, forcing overtime.
The Irish outscored Providence 20-13 in the overtime frame, using a timely 14-5 run in the overtime session to pull away with the victory. Providence had this one, and essentially beat themselves with their poor free throw shooting. They outrebounded Notre Dame 48-38 and surprisingly with the prescence of Harangody, dominated the paint, outscoring Notre Dame 36-26. However, in the Big East, on the road, 6 free throws out of 16 won’t get it done.
Tags: Big East Basketball, NCAA Men's basketball, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Providence Friars