Irish hold off late San Fran rally
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame almost went on Christmas break too early.
Up by 23 points 7:24 before halftime, the Fighting Irish appeared headed for an easy victory over San Francisco. But the Dons rallied to cut the lead to 5 points five times in the second half before finally losing 84-76 Saturday. The game wasn't decided until with the Dons down 82-76, Dior Lowhorn missed a 3-pointer with 5 seconds left. The Dons (4-8), who also scored well in a 110-79 loss to Oregon last month, fell to 0-6 on the road this season. The Irish are 8-2. Luke Harangody scored 16 of his 23 points in the second half to help the Irish hang on.
Kyle McAlarney added 14 points for the Irish and Rob Kurz added 12 points and eight rebounds. Harangody also added 10 rebounds to lead the Irish to a 41-35 rebounding advantage. Jackson also had a double-double, the first of his career.
Manny Quezada scored 21 of his 25 points in the second half for the Dons. Lowhorn added 20 points and Cavic had 13.