Dillon steps up in Irish victory over Cougars
By KATHLEEN O'BRIEN
Associate Sports Editor
Every time Brigham Young looked like it would give Notre Dame a run for its money Wednesday night, senior point guard Jimmy Dillon came through for the Irish.
Dillon tallied four steals to bring his season total to 64 and smash former Irish star David Rivers' 15-year-old single-season record of 61. Dillon's defensive efforts helped lift Notre Dame (21-14) to a 64-52 victory over Brigham Young (22-11) in the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament.
"It's an honor," Dillon said of the record. "It's a shock. But it's a great accomplishment."
Dillon sparked the Irish with his fourth and final steal, which he dribbled down the court for a breakaway lay-up. Those points ended a more than four-minute scoring drought for the Irish, and put them ahead 52-45.
"I think Jimmy has given us energy all year long," Notre Dame head coach Matt Doherty said. "He gives us some athleticism at the guard spot that we need. He gives us some toughness. He's a good ball-handler. I think he really enjoys running the show, and he's done a good job. He's a smart player."
The Cougars countered with a jumper by junior Mekeli Wesley to cut the Irish lead to five.
Sophomore forward David Graves worked his name into the record book a minute later. Graves tied Ryan Hoover's 1983-84 season record for 3-pointers with his 80th of the year on a Dillon assist that led off an 8-0 Irish run.
The streak continued as a Harold Swanagan defensive rebound led to another Graves basket.
On BYU's next possession, Troy Murphy pulled down one of his game-high nine rebounds. The rebound returned the ball to Notre Dame, and freshman Mike Monserez nailed a 3-pointer for his only points of the game.
"That pass David [Graves] made to Harold [Swanagan] was big," Doherty said of a jumper just before Dillon's final steal. "Mike [Monserez]'s shot was big. Jimmy [Dillon]'s steal was big. That gave us some life, and maybe took some life from BYU."
With the Irish now up 60-47, the victory was virtually in hand. Brigham Young coach Steve Cleveland knew things were getting out of control for his squad, and called a 30-second timeout. The Irish team sensed they were on the verge of another trip to New York, as Graves hugged Murphy on the way off the court.
The closest the Cougars could come after the timeout was an eight-point deficit with 2:09 remaining, following two free throws by Eric Nielsen and a trey by Michael Vranes.
Their only hope for victory after that rested on sending the Irish to the charity stripe. But the Irish were golden from the line.
Murphy knocked down two free throws to give the Irish a 10-point advantage.
Notre Dame shot 89 percent from the free throw line on 16-for-18 shooting.
"It was an ugly game," Graves said. "We found a way to survive by hitting free throws at the end."
The Irish benefited from 58 percent shooting from the field, while the Cougars suffered at 37 percent. The Cougars faced a zone defense for the first time since before Christmas, a challenge they fared poorly against.
"When you play against a zone, you have to make perimeter shots," Cleveland said. "We don't have the size to battle Notre Dame inside. If we knock those threes down, this thing goes right to the wire. If you don't make [open shots] on the road, you're not going to win."
Notre Dame won despite 18 turnovers and a less-than-perfect defensive outing, according to Doherty.
"It wasn't the prettiest game for a lot of reasons," Doherty said. "I want everybody operating at 100 percent capacity, and I felt we were a little bit flat at times. The energy wasn't there on the bench. When you win and you don't play your best, I think you're a pretty good team."
Game Notes:
u No player for BYU scored more than 10 points, but Wesley, Vranes and John Allen all tallied exactly 10.
u Murphy led the Irish with 19 points, as eight Irish players scored in the outing.
u Dillon climbed to 206 assists on the season and now sits just eight behind Jackie Meehan's 1970-71 record, with two games remaining.
u This year's Notre Dame squad has played the second-highest number of games in school history. The 1908-09 Irish played 40 games, while this year's team will play in 37.
u Notre Dame's next game will be in the semi-finals of the NIT. The team will take on an 18-15 Penn State team Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.
All Sports Stories for Thursday, March 23, 2000
