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Notre Dame holds off Seton Hall in shootout

Jan 10, 2009 - 11:30 PM SOUTH BEND, Indiana (Ticker) -- Notre Dame coach Mike Brey has admitted there will be days when his team needs to simply outscore its opponent to win, and that was the case Saturday.

Luke Harangody recorded his fifth straight double-double with 30 points and 16 rebounds as the 13th-ranked Fighting Irish posted an 88-79 victory over Seton Hall in a Big East Conference contest.

Notre Dame (12-3, 3-1 Big East) held off the plucky Pirates to extend the nation's longest current home court winning streak to 45 games.

The Fighting Irish also tied Pittsburgh's Big East record by winning their 20th straight home contest against a conference opponent.

"I was concerned about Seton Hall with their speed and quickness off the dribble," Brey said. "That gave us trouble most of the game."

Harangody was unstoppable down the stretch as Notre Dame eventually wore down Seton Hall (9-7, 0-4), which stayed close until the final three minutes.

"I hope you understand what we're seeing here," Brey said of his big man. "This is a really, very special guy. Certainly, his motor kept us believing that whole second half."

The Fighting Irish were not safe until Kyle McAlarney drilled a 3-pointer to make it 82-73 with 2:55 remaining.

"We knew we weren't going to blow Seton Hall out like last year," said McAlarney, whose team routed the Pirates, 95-69, last season. "We did a good job of recognizing that we were not going to win by 20 or 30 points, but we'd need to grind it out and fight for this one."

Notre Dame allowed Seton Hall to shoot 51 percent (33-of-65) from the field and found itself trailing at halftime.

Eugene Harvey, who scored 15 of his 21 points in the opening half, hit a runner at the buzzer to give the Pirates a 42-41 edge at the intermission.

"You almost have to play perfect basketball to beat (Notre Dame)," Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez said. "We did a great job keeping Harangody down as much as we could, but he's a remarkable player. I thought he was the difference in the second half."

During one stretch, Harangody actually missed 10 straight shots and finished just 8-of-23 from the field. However, he was deadly from the line, converting 14 of his 16 free throws.

Harangody recorded his 10th double-double of the season and has scored 20 or more points in eight straight games, becoming the first Notre Dame player to accomplish that feat since Kelly Tripucka in 1980. Harangody also grabbed seven offensive rebounds.

"The offensive rebounding clinic he put on during the second half, I don't know if I've ever seen anything like that," Brey added. "It's not like those (Seton Hall) guys were 6-3 and couldn't jump. His will to chase down (rebounds) and get us other possessions were key."

Jeremy Hazell's layup capped a 7-0 spurt that gave Seton Hall a 58-54 lead with 13:06 left. However, the game may have turned when Hazell was assessed a technical foul for taunting after the basket.

Still, Notre Dame did not take the lead for good until Harangody's free throw made it 66-65 with 8:28 remaining. His layup pushed Notre Dame's lead to 76-69 with 5:05 remaining.

Tory Jackson and McAlarney each scored 18 points for the Fighting Irish, who begin a rugged five-game stretch at No. 21 Louisville on Monday.

"We're tough," Jackson said. "Harangody, even though he went through that little drought, he came back and gave us big minutes."