Jan. 15, 1998
Irish Upset West Virginia in Morgantown
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) - Keith Friel hit a 15-foot jumper with a second left
Thursday night as Notre Dame beat No. 21 West Virginia 74-72, snapping the
Mountaineers' nine-game home winning streak.
Pat Garrity, last season's Big East Player of the Year, led the Fighting
Irish (9-5, 3-3) with 27 points. Derek Manner added 15 points for Notre Dame
and Friel had 11.
West Virginia (14-3, 4-3) was coming off back-to-back wins over Georgetown
and Miami. Damian Owens led the Mountaineers with 22 points.
Jarrod West's 3-pointer with 16:11 remaining in the second half sparked a
14-2 run for the Mountaineers. Owens' slam put West Virginia ahead 51-44 with
13:40 left.
West Virginia's Brian Lewin made two free throws with 1:08 remaining to tie
it 70-70. Friel then drove the right side, dribbled behind his back and hit a
leaning jumper from the foul line for the game winner.
Notre Dame shot 58.5 percent from the field and outrebounded West Virginia
41-32 while holding the Mountaineers to just 39.5 percent shooting. West
Virginia had 12 steals to Notre Dame's two.
West Virginia only trailed 36-32 at halftime despite making just 14 of 41
from the field.
Notes
- The Irish win over the 20th-ranked Mountaineers snapped a 20-game losing streak against ranked opponents. The last Irish win over a ranked foe came on February 17, 1994, when Notre Dame beat 22nd-ranked Marquette 68-58 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.
- The win marked the first time the Irish have won two BIG EAST road games in one season. Notre Dame beat St. John's 86-83 at Madison Square Garden on January 31, 1996, and beat Syracuse 73-58 at the Carrier Dome on January 18, 1997, in the only two Irish road BIG EAST wins in their first two years in the conference. Notre Dame won its first road conference win this season at Pittsburgh 73-69 on December 6, 1997.
- Senior captain Derek Manner recorded his first career double-double with 15 points to go along with 10 rebounds.
