NCAA BK

Zoned, out: Loss tough to take for Irish, Harangody; South Regional: Old Dominion 51, Notre Dame 50

LexisNexis Feed Steve Tucker, The Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Sun Times
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Updated Mar 19, 2010 4:34 PM ET
     
 

The luck of the Irish must have expired on St. Patrick's Day.

Playing in the first round of the NCAA South Regional on Thursday at New Orleans Arena, Notre Dame went a critical 5:59 of the second half without scoring and fell to Old Dominion 51-50.

Against changing zone defenses, Notre Dame never found its groove in the second half. Star forward Luke Harangody, saddled with two early fouls, missed his first seven shots and made his only two baskets in the last 12 seconds.

''That 3-2 zone,'' Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. ''Every time [we] caught it, someone was right there. It destroyed our rhythm. We didn't make shots that we usually do. I still can't believe we lost. I give a lot of credit to Old Dominion and the way they played. They made veteran plays at key times.''

When Harangody went down with a deep bone bruise in his right knee Feb. 12, it was feared the the school's No. 2 all-time scoring leader (behind Austin Carr) was finished. But the 6-8 senior forward returned March 6 at Marquette. He starred in his new role of coming off the bench. He played between 22 and 26 minutes in Notre Dame's three games in the Big East tournament last week, and scored in double figures in all three games.

''It was tough for him,'' Brey said. ''Luke got two early fouls and could never really get into a flow. And the new [style] we are playing makes it hard against a zone like that. Also, when you're playing against zone for long periods of time, it's a little harder to establish him offensively.''

Asked Wednesday about his decision to come back for his senior year, Harangody said: ''I'm very happy I stayed. I wouldn't change it for anything.''

A tip-in by Tory Jackson with 7:48 left gave Notre Dame (23-12) a 43-40 lead. But the Irish missed their next six shots and committed a turnover before tying the score at 46 on a three-pointer by Carleton Scott with 1:49 left.

Old Dominion's Gerald Lee made a jumper. He also made the first of two free throws 31 seconds later to put the Monarchs ahead for good. After Harangody made a layup, two free throws by Keyon Carter put Old Dominion up 51-48 with nine seconds left. A three-pointer by Scott rimmed out with two seconds left, and Harangody put it back in at the buzzer.

The Irish, who made 6 of 26 three-pointers, were led by Ben Hansbrough with 17 points. Scott had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Frank Hassel scored 15 and Carter 11 for Old Dominion (27-8), which will face Baylor on Saturday.

The Irish led 30-22 after a basket by Scott nine seconds into the second half, but the Monarchs answered with a 9-0 run to go ahead 31-30 with 14:24 left.

Brey said he would wait to speak to his seniors until the team arrived back at its hotel.

''There is a lot of emotion,'' Brey said. ''When you invest, like those guys have invested in our basketball program, man, it comes crashing down. Also, when you've been on a run like us and it comes to a stop, you're coming from way up high. For everybody, this tournament ends so fast.

''When Jackson and Harangody showed up on our campus, the climate changed in our locker room. We got tougher. We believed more. ... They've been great ambassadors for our program and our university.''

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Tagged: New Orleans, Old Dominion, Notre Dame

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