Irish overcome early deficit, cruise to win
By KERRY SMITH
Sports Editor
All it took was two foul shots.
Struggling to recover from a 13-point deficit midway through the first half, the Irish needed only two calmly launched free throws from forward Troy Murphy to gain the lead, a lead they would hold the rest of the game, Sunday against the Mountaineers of West Virginia.
But the 78-61 Big East win was anything but easy for the 11-5 Irish.
In a heated and physical outing, tempers flared on both sides of the court as the two conference rivals butted heads at the Joyce Center.
"We kept our cool in an unusual game," Irish head coach Mike Brey said. "But that's league basketball."
West Virginia took the crowd out of the game early, running up a 17-4 lead during the opening eight minutes before the Irish got on top of their game and their shots started falling.
"I liked how we started the game," Mountaineer head coach Gale Catlett said. "Our playing was crisp and we were hitting the right people."
Forward David Graves provided a much needed spark off the bench with a top all-around effort, leading the Irish with 17 points and two offensive and seven defensive rebounds.
"As long as I'm on the floor, I'm going to do what I have to," Graves said. "You just go out and try to wreak havoc on the defensive end."
That team effort slowly let the Irish back into the game, matching the Mountaineers and then taking the lead at 24-23 on Murphy foul shots with less than eight minutes remaining in the first half.
Murphy was right on Graves' heels, adding 16 points in 37 minutes of play.
"They got out to a great start," Murphy said. "We showed a lot of poise dealing with all the distractions. And getting down 17-4 was one of those minor distractions.
As the Irish found their footing on the court and the Mountaineers slowly felt their grip on the game slipping away, frustrations turned into fouls.
West Virginia racked up 13 personal fouls in the first half and tempers clashed when Mountaineer forward Chris Moss stepped on Irish forward Jere Macura's face after a West Virginia offensive play. Officials awarded Moss his first of two technical fouls, as Irish players had to restrain an upset Macura.
Moss' second technical foul came midway through the second half when he fouled out, and officials, Mountaineer head coach Gale Catlett and two assistant coaches had to restrain him. A West Virginia coach had to escort an irate Moss off the court as the junior starter spit at the Notre Dame student section, hitting an Irish cheerleader.
"He was claiming he got shoved and pushed all day," Catlett said. "He has a few personal problems — a mother that is dying and playing out of position leading to the frustration. ... It will be corrected."
Irish forward Ryan Humphrey was also awarded a technical foul in the second half for reacting angrily after getting fouled while taking a shot under the basket.
Physical play proved only to hinder, not help, the Mountaineers as the Irish inflated a 37-30 halftime lead into a 22-point margin late in the second half.
Irish point guard Martin Ingelsby gave his team a boost, scoring 10 of his 14 points in the second half, while Humphrey added 12 on the day.
Despite battling through the Irish double team, Calvin Bowman carried the Mountaineers with 22 points. Teammate Lionel Armstead added 15. Armstead was pivotal in the Mountaineers' initial push, scoring 10 points in the first half, but the Irish quickly adjusted to shut the guard and the rest of the West Virginia offense down.
"Man to man [defense] bailed us out," Brey said. "We did a great job in it. We're getting better on defense."
Sunday's game was reminiscent of last year's Notre Dame-West Virginia matchup when the Irish dug themselves out of a 17-point hole to earn a win.
The Irish have little time to recover from Sunday's win as they face another conference rival, 15-2 Syracuse, on Tuesday.
All Sports Stories for Monday, January 22, 2001
