Men's Basketball: Irish fall to Hoyas 79-72 in regular season finale
By KERRY SMITH
Sports Editor
Both times Notre Dame and Georgetown have stepped on the court together this season it has come down to which team wanted — or needed — it more.
The first time, Georgetown was favored and playing in front of a home crowd while the Irish fought hard to work its way to the top of the division charts.
Advantage Notre Dame.
This time around, while the division trophy was already a guarantee for the Irish, the Hoyas needed a win to earn a bye in the Big East Tournament.
Advantage Georgetown.
The No. 21 Hoyas showed they were hungrier for a final regular season notch in the win column, coming out with a dominating performance down low and walking away with a 79-72 upset Sunday at the Joyce Center.
"I can't really talk about just one play or player today," Hoya head coach Craig Esherick said. "There were more players than that that gave us a spark ... This is how we're supposed to play. Teams that play well play well in March."
Five players scored in double figures for the Hoyas as the win secured a first round bye for the 23-6 (10-6) team in this weekend's Big East Tournament.
The Hoya big men filled the lane all game as forward Mike Sweetney led with 19 points while center Ruben Boumtje Boumtje added 16 and forward Lee Scruggs chipped in another 11 from inside.
"All their big guys worry me," Irish head coach Mike Brey said. "I'm really impressed with Sweetney. I saw him play in high school and now he's even better than I thought. Scruggs is just so hard to guard. He's seven feet tall and stepping out and stepping in. It's a real challenge for anybody."
That challenge proved to be too great for the No. 13 and Big East West Division Champion Irish as they hung close all game, but couldn't put together a run when it counted to top the Hoyas.
"They're very long and they're big," Irish forward David Graves said. "It bothers you, but that's when you have to do the little things."
The Irish didn't do those little things to ensure a win, failing to stifle a hot Hoya offense and getting crushed on the boards.
The Hoyas used their size advantage where it counted, pulling down 53 rebounds to Notre Dame's 36.
"They were a tough rebounding team," said Irish forward Troy Murphy. "They're the best rebounding team we've faced. They're rugged and they crash the boards hard."
Murphy led the Irish with 19 points before fouling out late in the second half. Graves nipped at his heels with 17, while forward Harold Swanagan and guard Matt Carroll combined for 25.
The Irish led for 10 minutes in the first half until a Boumtje jumper put the Hoyas on top for good 19-18.
The Irish kept it close for most of the game, but with 12:45 remaining in the second, the Hoyas pulled ahead with a double-digit lead when Demetrius Hunter hit a 3-pointer to extend the lead 51-40.
The Irish came within five with just over two minutes remaining when senior point guard Martin Ingelsby launched a 3-pointer for a 66-61 score, but the Hoyas responded with a 3 of their own en route to the seven-point win.
The loss was bittersweet for the Irish, as they celebrated their division win with an award ceremony directly following the game.
"The trophy was here three or four days ago," Murphy said. "We had it in a couple of different spot in the locker room trying to figure out where to put it because we've never had one before. We definitely should have focused on this [game] more."
Sunday's game was the final home game for the Irish seniors: starter Martin Ingelsby and reserve Hans Rasmussen.
"We always want to win on senior day," Murphy said. "It just wasn't in the cards today but I think [Ingelsby] would trade not winning today for three wins later this week."
Notes
u Last year's starting point guard Jimmy Dillon attended Sunday's game. The 2000 graduate played basketball professionally in Finland this winter. He's keeping his options open for next year between continuing to play or taking an assistant coaching position at the college level.
u Recruit Chris Thomas, expected to replace Ingelsby at point guard next season, also was at the game.
Thomas, who plays for Indianapolis Pike High School, became the 34th player in Indiana high school history to score 2,000 career points last Thursday. In that game, Pike, ranked fourth in Class 4A, beat Class 3A No. 5 Cathedral High 87-70. Pike enters the playoffs this week.
All Sports Stories for Monday, March 5, 2001
