Francis' late layup lifts Irish over No. 4 Panthers in 66-64 comeback win
By CHRIS FEDERICO
Sports Writer
Notre Dame tri-captain Matt Carroll had recently lamented that he had never experienced the thrill of being mobbed by a crowd of crazed fans and students rushing the court of the Joyce Center in his four years with the Irish.
Sunday afternoon, that all changed as No. 10 Notre Dame pulled of a 66-64 upset of No. 4 Pittsburgh before a sellout crowd at the Joyce Center.
"We couldn't ask for anything better. The fans were unbelievable today," Carroll said after the last-second victory. "I had no idea. There were 20 people jumping on my back. I looked up and there was a big wave of green coming on me."
Just four days after being on the losing end of such a celebration after Notre Dame's 78-72 to Seton Hall, the Irish players saw Sunday's matchup with conference rival Pittsburgh as an opportunity to turn the tables.
"We had talked the other day about crowds rushing the courts, because at Seton Hall, their crowd rushed the court when they beat us," said freshman center Torin Francis, whose bucket with just 0.6 seconds left to play put the Irish on top by two.
"Matt Carroll was saying how he'd never experienced that here, and we thought it shouldn't [be that way.] So we just came out here and we knew we wanted to win this game, and that we had to win this game, and in the end, it was a great feeling seeing our crowd run out there."
Pittsburgh guard Brandin Knight drained a three pointer — his only basket from the field all day — with 30 seconds left to knot the score at 64.
With the shot clock turned off, Irish point guard Chris Thomas let the game clock run down to close to five seconds before making his move on Knight. The sophomore drove left from a few feet outside the key and jumped near the free throw line for an apparent last second shot. But just before he came down, Thomas slipped a pass off to Francis in heavy traffic under the basket, and the freshman laid the ball in for the winning score.
"I saw [Thomas], and he was penetrating, so I cut to the basket, and he went up and saw me," Francis said about the sequence of the play. "I was right under the basket, and I got it. He threaded the needle, and I was right there to make a good catch. Then I just went up with it, just like that."
A list-ditch effort to get the ball in by the Panthers was stopped when Irish forward Jordan Cornette swatted the in-bounds pass out of the air near mid-court.
"I'm very proud of our team. We beat a very good basketball team today," Irish coach Mike Brey said after the victory, which was Notre Dame's fourth over a top-10 opponent this season. "Everyone knows that Pittsburgh is very experienced and well-coached. They are a great defensive team, and I'm very proud of our guys because we never gave up."
After a lackluster first half in which they allowed the Panthers over 55 percent shooting, the Irish went into the locker room with an eight-point deficit.
"After the first half, we came in here down eight," Francis said. "We said to ourselves, that as a team, we just have to pick it up. It was embarrassing being down at our home court. They were having their own way all through the first half, but in the second half we went out there and little by little started making some stops."
The Panthers built their lead to 10 points early in the second period, but the Irish gradually worked their way back into the game, as the senior leader of the team — Carroll — began to take control.
With the Irish down nine points and just over 18 minutes to play, Francis missed the second of two free throws, but Irish center Tom Timmermans swatted the rebound out beyond the arc to Carroll, who was able to drain the three and narrow the Panther lead to six.
Just over a minute later, Notre Dame forward Dan Miller found Carroll on a break again from behind the arc, and the senior sank the shot to close the gap to three points.
After a missed three-point attempt by Panther guard Julius Page, Carroll found Francis down on the block, and the freshman worked around Pittsburgh forward Ontario Lett for a layup to get the Irish within one.
"Coach Brey makes us understand that there is a lot of game to be played, especially when it is the first couple of minutes of the second half and anything can happen," said Carroll, who finished the day with 14 points and six assists. "We can put some points up quickly, and since we played good defense, especially in the second half, that was the turning point in the game."
The Irish would get no closer than one until just over 10 minutes remained, when Thomas intercepted a weak pass by Knight and drove to the basket for an easy layup to tie the game at 52.
Notre Dame guard Torrian Jones then pressured the in-bounds pass and was able to tip the ball up to himself and move in for a shot when he was fouled. Jones sank one of his two free throws to give the Irish their first lead since 5:16 into the first half.
The play put the Irish on top and gave them the momentum heading into the last 10 minutes of play.
"We really feed and build off of [the crowd]," Jones said. "At that point, with a little momentum, I felt like I had a good time to make a play. … That was a big turning point, because it showed that our defense was what was making us win the game. That's when we're at our best, when our defense is really playing well."
Pittsburgh reclaimed the lead on a pair of free throws from forward Chevon Troutman.
With the Irish down 56-55 and just 5:58 to play, Thomas dealt a deadly blow to the Panthers with a three-pointer from about five feet outside the arc, the first of his seven points in the last six minutes. The sophomore guard finished the day with 24 points and eight assists, and finished as the game's leading scorer.
"We challenged [Pittsburgh]," Brey said. "We got the ball and made better decisions, and I think we took a big step forward today."
The victory moved Notre Dame to 19-4 on the season and 7-2 in the Big East, while Pittsburgh fell to 16-3 and 6-2.
All Sports Stories for Monday, February 10, 2003
