Feb. 11, 2001
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – One of Troy Murphy’s worst games of the season couldn’t keep No. 20 Notre Dame from its seventh straight victory.
Murphy scored just 15 points, but his final one – a free throw with a minute left – gave Notre Dame the lead for good and the Irish held on for a 69-66 victory over West Virginia on Sunday.
Murphy shot just 4 of 10 from the field but West Virginia’s defensive pursuit dogged off the Irish star enabled his teammates to get open shots.
Martin Ingelsby led the Irish (16-5, 8-2 Big East) with 17 points. Matt Carroll had 15 and Ryan Humphrey scored 11. Humphrey had to be helped off the court with an injured ankle.
The Mountaineers (13-8, 4-6) shot just 25.8 percent from the floor in the second half after leading by eight at halftime.
West Virginia led 60-53 but saw its momentum slip away with several turnovers and costly fouls. Notre Dame hit 16 of 20 free throws in the second half, including 9 of 10 in the final 3:23.
Calvin Bowman, who finished with 18 points, scored West Virginia’s final seven points, including a free throw with 1:16 remaining to tie the game at 66.
Murphy hit his free throw 14 seconds later and David Graves closed the scoring with two free throws with 26.7 seconds remaining. West Virginia missed three 3-pointers in the final seconds.
West Virginia’s Brooks Berry, a forward who replaced injured guard Lionel Armstead in the starting lineup, scored a career-high 21 points, 18 in the first half. But he went 1 for 7 after halftime, as West Virginia missed 13 of its first 15 shots.
Notre Dame got 16 points on seven possessions to tie the game at 47-47 on two Graves free throws with 12:29 remaining. The game was tied three times afterward.
West Virginia center Chris Moss was more subdued against the Irish this time. Moss fouled out of their Jan. 21 meeting in South Bend after picking up his second technical foul. He became so agitated at a referee that he had to be pulled off the court, then spit toward a taunting student section and hit a Notre Dame cheerleader instead.
Moss, whose mother is seriously ill, apologized for his actions and took a two-game leave of absence. He has played in four games since, scoring 11 points Sunday before fouling out with a minute left.
Humphrey hurt his ankle during a scramble with a minute remaining, reinjured it during the postgame celebration and had to be helped off the court. The seriousness of his injury wasn’t immediately known.