Harangody passes 2,000 career mark in Notre Dame win
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- On the night when Luke Harangody became the first Notre Dame player with 2,000 career points and 1,000 rebounds it was a pass he made that had fans buzzing.
Harangody's alley-oop pass to Carleton Scott four minutes into the second half was a bit high, but Scott leapt and got his left hand on the ball and deflected it in to ignite an 18-2 run that let the Fighting Irish break the game open in beating Idaho State 80-70 Tuesday night.
"I just did my best to jump high and try to finish it," Scott said.
Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said he didn't like the play at first.
"It was one those where I was going, 'No, no, no, noooo ... OK, we'll take it,'" Brey said.
Brey was happy for Scott, who has continued to play better in recent games. He was 4-of-4 shooting.
"He's a guy who can ignite some stuff with the kind of plays he can make physically," he said.
But Brey believes the play showed even more about Harangody for looking to get a teammate involved.
"I think it says a lot about Luke Harangody in what he's tried to do and what he's tried to become as an all-around basketball player," Brey said.
Harangody, who led the Irish (7-1) with 27 points and 12 rebounds, said he saw that the Idaho State defender was "battling back" and didn't see Scott and knew he would make the play.
"You just throw it up there and he is going to catch it. You really don't have to do anything," Harangody said.
Harangody now has 2,025 career points and 1,031 rebounds. He is the seventh Irish player to score 2,000 points and the fifth to grab 1,000 rebounds. The crowd gave him a standing ovation when the accomplishment was announced during a timeout.
Brey said he knew Harangody was going to be a good player when he committed to the Irish, but never expected those kinds of numbers. He recalled talking to the Notre Dame Club of Northwest Indiana before Harangody's freshman year and talked about how the Irish were going to need him to contribute immediately.
"Afterward, in two separate conversations, his parents said, 'Really?' I said, 'Yeah, really.' And three reporters said, 'Really?' And I said, 'Yeah, really. We're going to need him. I didn't know we were going to get this."
Idaho State (2-5), which trailed 40-37 at halftime, closed to 47-42 when Broderick Gilchrest drove inside for a basket and then made a free throw, but then Scott made his big basket.
Idaho State coach Joe O'Brien said his team couldn't overcome the slow start in the second half.
"If we can go back and iron out that 10 minute stretch that wasn't very pretty, we're going to be making the type of progress that we hope games like this would allow us to make," he said.
Demetrius Monroe was 8-of-9 shooting, leading the Bengals with 18 points. Gilchrest and Austin Kilpatrick added 12 points each.