Notre Dame Edges Men's Basketball, 78-74
Boxscore [.html]
Boxscore [.pdf]
 SOUTH BEND, Ind. (January 30, 2005) — Junior Torin Francis scored 19 points
to
lead four players in double figures as the University of Notre Dame took a 78-74
win over the University of Connecticut Sunday at the Joyce Center. With the win,
Notre Dame improves to 13-5, 5-3 in the BIG EAST. UConn falls to 12-5 and 4-3 in
league play.
UConn was led by junior Denham Brown’s 20 points on the
afternoon, while freshman Rudy Gay added 16 points and sophomore Marcus Williams
had ten points and tied his UConn school record with 16 assists.
In the final minute of play with the Irish holding a 76-74
lead, Marcus Williams stripped Chris Thomas in the backcourt and went the length
of the court only to miss what would have been the tying layup. UConn was forced
to foul and Thomas made a pair of free throws at the other end for the final
difference.
Also in double figures for the Irish were senior Chris
Thomas (15), senior Dennis Latimore (12) and junior Chris Quinn (12).
 The Huskies shot 46.7% from the field on the afternoon,
while the Irish hit on 42.6%. UConn held a 41-36 advantage on the boards and
also had 23 assists on 28 field goals in the contest.
The Huskies held a 41-39 lead at intermission, as both
teams shot the ball well from the floor in a fast-paced half of action. UConn
shot 53.1% from the floor in the half, while the Irish hit on 48.6%. Torin
Francis scored 12 points in the first half, while Denham Brown led the Huskies
with 12 and Rudy Gay added eight. Marcus Williams had eight first half assists.
The first half saw two lead changes and eight ties. The
Huskies led by as many as six points on a pair of occasions and the Irish led by
as many as four points a pair of times. UConn jumped out to a 6-0 lead, but the
Irish quickly responded with a 10-2 run and started the seesaw scoring between
the schools.
UConn returns to action on Wednesday, February 2 with a 7:00 p.m. contest
against the Wildcats of Villanova University at the Hartford Civic Center. |
