Sweet revenge for Notre Dame in 84-73 win over UCLA
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Notre Dame (10-2) was thrilled with its win over UCLA (3-7) on Saturday, even if the Bruins are struggling.
"This is a huge win for us," said Luke Harangody, who scored 23 points as Notre Dame beat UCLA 84-73. "We're coming off a tough loss last weekend and we had a lot of guys come out and have huge games for us."
The 11-point victory won't go down as a classic, like when the Irish scored the final 12 points in 1974 to win 71-70 and end UCLA's NCAA-record 88-game winning streak. But it will go down as the third-most lopsided victory for the Irish in the rivalry, which the Bruins lead 28-20.
It was also sweet revenge, considering UCLA beat Notre Dame 89-63 a year ago to give them their seventh straight loss of the 2008-09 season, which saw the Irish go from ranked No. 12 to spiraling out of control. This year, the Bruins have lost six of their last seven.
"They are going to be a good team down the road," said Notre Dame guard Tory Jackson, who had 10 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds. "They've got great shooters and a coach that makes them run their offense."
UCLA coach Ben Howland said he expected a big game from Harangody after UCLA held him to 5 points on 2-for-12 shooting last season.
"I knew he was going to come out and really take it at us," he said.
Harangody missed his first 4 shots, then went 9-for-15 from the floor the rest of the way.
Tim Abromaitis and Ben Hansbrough hit back-to-back 3-pointers early in the second half to spark an 11-3 spurt by the Irish, who went ahead 53-42 on a jumper by Tyrone Nash. The Irish later extended the lead to 76-63 when Harangody scored on a fastbreak basket with 2:55 left.
Michael Roll hit a jumper and Malcolm Lee hit a 3-pointer and a layup as the Bruins went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 76-70 with 65 seconds left. But Harangody scored on a fastbreak dunk and a pair of free throws to quickly restore the lead to 10 points.
Lee led the Bruins with 29 points on 11-of-17 shooting.
"By far his best performance of his young career," Howland said. "He did a great job defensively for us."
UCLA led through much of the first half. But Harangody scored three-straight baskets to give the Irish a 33-30 lead. Then the Irish continued to increase their edge, opening a 40-36 halftime lead.
Abromaitis, who had 3 points by halftime, finished with 17. Hansbrough added 14, and Nash had 11 points and 8 rebounds.
Roll added 19 points, and Reeves Nelson had 11 points and 8 rebounds.
The Irish said the first sellout crowd of the season gave them a boost.
"I would love for the fans to come out like that every game," Jackson said. "It's just something."