March 2, 2005
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By TOM COYNE
AP Sports Writer
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - Colin Falls scored 18 points, Chris Quinn added 14
and Notre Dame shot a season-high 53 percent to beat Rutgers 66-56 Wednesday
night, ending a two-game losing streak for the Irish.
Chris Thomas added 10 points and 12 assists for the Irish (17-9, 9-6 Big
East), ensuring a fifth straight winning record in the conference. The only
other team to accomplish that feat the past five seasons is Syracuse. Rutgers
(9-17, 2-13), which has won just three of its last 17 games, finished its Big
East road season without a victory.
The Irish held Rutgers to 29.5 percent shooting, but couldn't shake the
Scarlet Knights until they used an 11-6 spurt to open a 62-53 lead when Thomas
hit a pair of free throws with 51 seconds left.
The Scarlet Knights stayed in the game through second-chance points,
outscoring the Irish 18-8 in that category. Rutgers outrebounded the Irish
37-30, just the eighth time this season the Scarlet Knights have outrebounded
an opponent.
Quincy Douby led Rutgers with 19 points, including 13 points in the first
half, Jimmie Inglis had 12 points and Marquis Webb had 10 points. Byron Joynes
had 15 rebounds.
After Douby scored the first basket of the second half to give the Scarlet
Knights a 31-30 lead, the Irish answered with an 8-0 run during which Quinn
scored six points. The Irish led the rest of the way.
Despite outshooting the Scarlet Knights 52 percent to 28 percent in the
first half, the Irish led only 30-29 at halftime. Rutgers stayed close by
outrebounding the Irish 19-14 and by shooting 10-of-13 from the free-throw line
while the Irish shot just 5-of-7. It marked the ninth straight Big East game
where Rutgers failed to score more than 30 points in a half.
