West Virginia tops Notre Dame 79-68
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Alex Ruoff scored 24 points and Da'Sean Butler added 19 points to lead West Virginia over Notre Dame 79-68 on Wednesday night.
After the Fighting Irish pulled to within 4 points on a free throw by Luke Harangody at the 4:26 mark of the second half, the Mountaineers (18-8, 7-6 Big East) answered with eight straight points to put the game away.
After watching the Fighting Irish (14-11, 5-8) sink five of their eight 3-point shots in the first half, the Mountaineers clamped down on the perimeter late in the game. Notre Dame made just 3 of 14 attempts from downtown over the final 20 minutes.
Early, Notre Dame looked like it would run away with the game.
In the first half the Fighting Irish took West Virginia's near-capacity crowd out of the game from virtually the opening tip, hitting seven of their first eight shots and building a commanding 10-point lead just five minutes in.
The Mountaineers, who led 42-40 at halftime, quickly woke up and found their groove on offense, particularly over the final 10 minutes of the first half.
West Virginia owned a 44-32 advantage on the glass, including 17 offensive rebounds, leading to 16 second-chance points.
Ruoff and Butler were joined in double-figures by two others for West Virginia. Kevin Jones recorded a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds and Devin Ebanks added 11 points.
Harangody led Notre Dame with 26 points and 13 rebounds, while Kyle McAlarney chipped in with 12.