Irish struggle in win over EA Sports All-Stars
By ANDREW SOUKUP
Sports Writer
It wasn't pretty, but it was a win.
Despite connecting on just 4-of-19 3-point attempts and withstanding a late charge from the EA Sports All-Stars, the Irish won their final exhibition game of the season Monday, 81-64.
"Like Coach says, it's not how you do it. We're going to have games like this in the Big East, but a win's a win," Matt Carroll said. "We didn't do anything too flashy to get the crowd out of their seats, which we'd like to have, but we have to learn how to win these games."
Carroll in particular showed how the Irish relied on nearly everything but their perimeter shooting. The senior guard started the game by missing a pair of wide-open 3-point attempts and ended the first half with just four points.
But Carroll rallied in the second half to finish with a game-high 18 points. He also tallied seven rebounds and six steals.
Carroll's shooting struggles were typical of an Irish squad that struggled to find the basket on long-range jumpers, connecting on 29-of-72 attempts from the field.
"They really kind of hugged us and took us away and forced us to do some other things," Irish coach Mike Brey said. "That's kind of new territory for us. Can you win a game without the lightning strikes from the 3-point line?"
The Irish proved they could. At times, Monday's game appeared less of an exhibition and more of a Big East clash. But even though their shots weren't falling, the Irish responded by driving to the basket, grabbing 18 offensive rebounds, shutting the All-Stars down on defense and scoring points on transition.
"We didn't shoot well, but I think that's a good sign," said Chris Thomas, who finished with 17 points and six assists. "If we can put up this many points and not shoot well, we'll be fine."
The Irish received a little bit of a scare from the All-Stars. EA Sports scored the first six points of the game and held the Irish scoreless for the first two minutes.
Although Notre Dame opened up a 35-22 lead using an 18-4 run toward the end of the first half, the All-Stars mounted a brief rally at the end of the game.
Trailing 61-40, the All-Stars reeled off a 14-3 run, cutting the Irish lead to 10. But that was as close as they would get as Notre Dame handily pulled away for the win.
"They're very hard on themselves, and they just didn't feel good about themselves tonight," Brey said. "Certainly there's some things we can improve on, but they've got high standards, and they're hard on themselves, which is great as a coach."
One of the bright spots for Notre Dame was the play of Jordan Cornette, who injured his ankle in a scrimmage last week but played 22 minutes Monday. Cornette entered the game early, and his quickness down low transformed the Irish defense. He finished with eight points, seven rebounds and two steals.
"I felt a lot better," Cornette said. "It felt kind of sore early in the week, they put me in progressively this week through practice, and I was ready to go tonight."
The Irish left Monday night's game with a few questions to answer before Sunday's season opener against Bucknell.
Brey expressed concern with Notre Dame's ability to handle full court pressure at the end of the game. The Irish committed several turnovers towards the end of the game trying to bring the ball upcourt, something Brey said the Irish will address in practice.
More pressing, in Brey's mind, was how the Irish are still waiting for a presence to develop close to the basket. The Irish shuffled numerous players into the lineup, trying to find a lineup that worked against the quick but physical All-Star squad.
Freshman Torin Francis had the most productive night of the Irish frontcourt, finishing with 13 points and nine rebounds. But the rest of the Irish big men struggled, and starter Tom Timmermans failed to score a point.
"I think we'll have questions about the front line probably until the Big East starts," Brey said. "… We're still searching [to see who emerges], and I think we're going to have to do that as best we can and still go after wins early."
Notes:
u Jere Macura made his first appearance for the Irish this season Monday night.
Macura, who missed Notre Dame's first exhibition game of the season with a knee injury, entered the game midway through the second half. He finished with five points and four rebounds in 10 minutes of playing time.
u Six of Notre Dame's 16 home games have already sold out, and many more are close to that number, Irish officials said.
In addition, all 3,150 student tickets sold out within 36 hours of going on sale.
The six sold-out games are Marquette, DePaul, Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech and Connecticut.
"I thank our fans, and I think they're smart," Brey said, "Because we have an exciting product."
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, November 12, 2002
