Notre Dame Game Day: Irish grind out 60-48 win

By Brian Hamilton

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Tim Abromaitis collected the loose ball at the end of the first half, another Notre Dame shot gone astray, and then heaved it toward the rim as time ticked away in the first half.

The shot fell, the Irish senior pumped his fist and the team sprinted to the locker room for intermission. It seemed like the moment that would inspire No. 9 Notre Dame to extricate itself from the mire, but a 60-48 victory over Seton Hall was a matter of being bogged down all night and somehow getting over it.

Notre Dame shot 39.6 percent -- its second-worst showing at Purcell Pavilion all season -- and committed 15 turnovers -- the most since a Jan. 16 implosion at St. John's. But a 10-2 spurt to end the first half and a 13-0 run early in the second half erased an 11-point deficit, and a 12-3 run late sealed it.

For all the Irish struggles, though, Seton Hall had it worse, shooting just 30.4 percent overall and scoring just two points over the last five minutes. Abromaitis led Notre Dame with 22 points and Ben Hansbrough added 21 as the Irish kept pace for one of the four double-byes in the Big East tournament.

PHOTO GALLERY: Notre Dame wins | Saturday's box score
The Irish shot 32 percent for the first half, missing 15 of their first 19 attempts. That 32 percent figure is the lowest for any half at home, all season, and the worst first-half percentage for Notre Dame since Game No. 7. In November. The Irish added seven turnovers to boot.

But Seton Hall wasn't much better, shooting just 10 of 30 and going six minutes at one point without a score. But the Pirates did manage to build an 11-point lead, with Hansbrough and Abromaitis hitting 3-pointers in the final minute to shave the deficit down.

Then after Jeff Robinson notched a 3-point play early in the second half, Notre Dame went on a 13-0 run to recapture the lead. But the Irish would manage just one field goal in a nearly seven-minute span after that, and Seton Hall was as close as 44-43 with seven minutes left.

But a Hansbrough jumper capped a 12-3 run and the Irish were in control from there, up 10 with two minutes to play.

Source: http://www.chicagobreakingsports.com/2011/02/notre-dame-game-day-irish-aim-to-build-to-bye.html

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