Thanks for the memories, Notre Dame sends Mike Brey off with an 88-81 upset of No. 25 Pitt

BOXSCORE

It was clear from the opening tip Wednesday night that the Notre Dame players had no interest in sending head coach Mike Brey out of Purcell Pavilion for the final time with a loss to No. 25 Pitt.

The Irish played their most complete 20 minutes of the season in the first half, built a 42-28 halftime lead and never looked back, recording an impressive 88-81 victory and a proper sendoff for their 23-year skipper in front of a lively, large and engaged home crowd. 

“We’ve always been pretty good here and there are great memories for us here,” Brey said immediately afterward. “It was sentimental to be here and I’m thrilled to have this as my last memory.”

This marked only the second win for the Irish (11-19, 3-16 ACC) in their last 13 games while Pitt (21-9, 14-5) came to town winners in eight of its last nine outings, and still in the hunt for a regular-season ACC title, and the No. 1 seed in next week’s conference tournament. 

And while the Irish victory won’t necessarily send any shockwaves around the college basketball landscape, it certainly made for a terrific feel-good moment for six departing seniors and one retiring head coach. 

“What an unbelievable night,” Brey added, giddier with the win than emotional in the moment. “I’m really proud of our guys. It was neat for our seniors to finish like that.”

It’s been said before that Notre Dame under Brey often lives and dies by the three-point shot. The Irish thrived with it against the Panthers.

Led by graduate guard Marcus Hammond, Notre Dame went 7-of-15 shooting threes in the first half compared to only 3-of-15 for the Panthers, and that was the difference not only in the first half but for the entire game. 

The Irish made 10 threes. Pitt made 4 threes. 

Hammond finished with a season-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-6 from three-point range. 

A tight game through the first 14 minutes, Notre Dame opened things up with a barrage of three-pointers during a 17-4 run late in the first half that pushed a 25-24 Irish lead to a 42-28 halftime advantage.

Plagued by second-half collapses all of this season, Notre Dame avoided another tragic one. A three-pointer pulled Pitt within 84-79 with 44 seconds left in the game. But a couple of Irish foul shots, a defensive stop, and a late breakaway dunk put an exclamation point on this one. The Irish trailed for only 37 seconds total in the game and led by as many as 20 points in the second half. 

Balance the key

With five players in double figures, Notre Dame’s win was highlighted by a balanced scoring effort. 

Grad senior Cormac Ryan joined Hammond with 20 points and game-high scoring honors. Grad forward Nate Laszewski added 14 points and 8 rebounds. Grad guard Dane Goodwin had 12 points, and grad guard Trey Wertz had 14 points. Each of Notre Dame’s five double-digit scorers was playing their final game at Purcell Pavilion. 

In addition to the three-point shooting advantage for Notre Dame, the Irish also held a decisive advantage from the free-throw line, on a night that plenty were attempted.

The Irish went 26 of 31 (83.9 percent) from the foul line while Pitt managed 20 of 36 free-throw shooting (55.6 percent). 

Up next: Notre Dame closes its regular season Saturday at Clemson (21-9, 13-6 ACC) before opening play in the conference tournament Tuesday against one of the other five bottom teams in the conference standings.