March 4, 2004
Notre Dame Georgetown Box Score
By TOM COYNE
AP Sports Writer
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Chris Thomas scored 19 points, Chris Quinn added 18 and Notre Dame held Georgetown to 28 percent shooting, beating the Hoyas 61-48 Thursday night.
The 48 points were the least ever allowed by the Irish (15-11, 8-7) in a Big East game, breaking the mark of 51 set in an 11-point victory over Seton Hall in 2002. Ray Reed hit a 15-foot shot at the buzzer for Georgetown, which scored a season-low 48 points for a second straight game in losing its seventh straight.
It is the longest losing streak for Georgetown (13-13, 4-11) since the 1971-72 season, when the Hoyas had losing streaks of nine and eight games in going 3-23 the season before John Thompson was hired as coach.
But the Hoyas can still qualify for the Big East tournament with a win at home Saturday against Virginia Tech or if Miami loses at home to West Virginia.
Notre Dame was in control throughout after opening a 13-4 lead early. The Irish shot 37.5 percent and had just five turnovers while the Hoyas struggled to generate offense throughout the game, missing layups, a dunk and putting up several air balls.
Georgetown’s Gerald Riley, who entered the game averaging 17.8 points, struggled for a second straight game. He was 0-for-11 from the field and had eight points against Seton Hall on Saturday. Against the Irish, he had just 10 points on 3-of-13 shooting. Brandon Bowman led the Hoyas with 17 points.
Both teams started the game shooting poorly, with the Irish shooting 2-of-12 and the Hoyas shooting 1-of-12. Rick Cornett scored on a slam dunk to spark a 12-2 run for the Irish, opening an 18-6 lead.
The Hoyas later closed to 20-13 on a 3-pointer by Brandon Bowman, but the Irish answered with an 8-0 run. The Hoyas trailed 30-16 at halftime and never got any closer than 12 points.