Notre Dame holds on for 70-68 win over No. 8 West Virginia

Harangody scores 24 points, ND beats No. 8 W.Va.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Da’Sean Butler’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer rolled around the rim and out fell out and Notre Dame, which led by 20 at the half, held on for a 70-68 victory over No. 8 West Virginia on Saturday night.

Luke Harangody led the Fighting Irish (14-3, 3-1 Big East) with 24 points as the Irish shot just 26 percent in the second half after shooting 75 percent in the first. The Irish were 14 of 20 on free throws in the final 11:20, while West Virginia was 2 of 4 for the game.

The Mountaineers (12-2, 3-1) got back in it by hitting 9 of 19 3-pointers in the second half, closing to 67-66 on a shot from behind the arc by Dalton Pepper with 4:50 left. But Harangody muscled his way in down low to score inside to give the Irish a 3-point lead.

After Pepper missed a 3, Tory Jackson hit a free throw with 3:25 left to make it 70-66. After Jackson missed a pair of 3-pointers, Joe Mazzulla banked in a shot inside to cut the lead to two, but the Moutaineers couldn’t hit the last shot.

Tim Abromaitis added 17 points for the Irish, who didn’t have a basket from the floor in the last 4 minutes. Tyrone Nash added 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting, all in the first half.

Kevin Jones led the Mountaineers with 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Butler was 4 of 20, 3 of 12 from 3-point range, and finished with 13 points. Darryl Bryant scored all of his 11 points in the second half.

The Fighting Irish dominated early, hitting their first nine shots to open a 25-4 lead on an outside jumper by Harangody. The Moutaineers went 2 for 16 from the floor during that span, including 0 for 6 from 3-point range.

The Mountaineers used runs of 11-0 and 10-2 in the second half to get back in the game.

The Irish were without junior forward Carleton Scott, normally the second guy off the bench, who has taken an indefinite leave of absence. He was averaging 3.8 points and rebounds and 15 minutes a game.

Freshman Joey Brooks played in his place, playing 9 minutes and finishing with five points.

It was West Virginia’s second loss in nine days in Indiana. Purdue beat the Mountaineers 77-62 on New Year’s Day.