Nov. 24 2007

Second-Half Flurry Not Enough in 87-75 Loss to Notre Dame

    Notre Dame, Ind. -- Senior John Barber scored a career-high 19 points and recorded his first double-double of the season with 12 rebounds but an explosive first half by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (3-2) was too much to overcome for the Youngstown State men's basketball team (2-20 in an 87-75 loss to Notre Dame (3-2) on Saturday evening at the Joyce Center.

    Junior Jack Liles scored 17 points with eight rebounds and senior Byron Davis and freshman Vance Cooksey scored 14 and 13 points respectively.

    The Penguins, who trailed by as many as 26 points in the second half, outscored the Fighting Irish, 44-34, after the intermission and allowed Notre Dame just eight points and one field goal over the final 7:06 of the game.

    Trailing 83-59 at the 4:26 mark in the second half, the Penguins scored 12 straight points over the next three minutes to cut the Irish lead to 83-71. 

    Two 3-pointers by Cooksey, two jumpers and two free throws paced the Penguins charge. After a free throw by McAlarney, layups by Cooksey and Gemayl Johnson brought the Penguins within nine, 84-75, but the Penguins would not get any closer. 

    Notre Dame's impressive inside-outside combination of Luke Harangody and Kyle McAlarney led the Fighting Irish, who made six 3-pointers in the first stanza, to a 61.8 first-half field-goal percentage and a 52-31 lead at the intermission. McAlarney connected on 5-of-8 from the field, including four 3-pointers, for 15 first half points and Harangody added 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field.

    For the game, Harangody led all scorers with 25 points on 12-of-17shooting while McAlarney tallied 23 points with five 3-pointers.

    The Penguins, who made six triples in the first half, did not score in the final 2:23 of the first half after Davis's 3-pointer and scored just 12 points in the final 10:52 after scoring 19 points in the first 9:08.

    The Fighting Irish jumped out to a 7-1 lead after the Penguins missed their first four field goals but the Penguins got back in the game with a 10-5 run to trail by two, 13-11, at the 14:25 mark after a layup and 3-pointer by Byron Davis.
    A 3-pointer by ND's Ryan Ayers and a 3-pointer by McAlarney extended the Irish lead back to seven, 18-11, with 13:47 remaining.

    Barber, who scored 12 points in the first half, nailed his second 3-pointer of the half to bring the Penguins back within four, 18-14, but the Irish scored five of the next seven points to increase their advantage to 23-16 with 11:38 remaining in the half.

    Johnson's 3-pointer sliced the Penguins' deficit to four, 23-19, but the Irish scored seven straight to take an 11-point lead, 30-19, after a 3-pointer by McAlarney and layup and jumper by Luke Zeller. 

    A 3-pointer by Vance Cooksey and two charity tosses by Barber cut the Irish lead to six, 30-24, with 7:35 left.

    Notre Dame, however, used a 15-4 run over the next five minutes to push its lead to 17, 45-28 at the 2:35 mark.

    The Penguins continue their three-game road swing at St. Francis (Pa.), Wednesday, Nov. 28, at 7 p.m. in Loretto, Pa.