February 14, 1999
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) – Elton Scott’s layup with 50 seconds left lifted West Virginia past Notre Dame 85-80 in a Big East game Sunday.
The victory snapped a four-game losing streak for the Mountaineers (10-15, 4-11), who lost a 19-point second-half lead and had to fend off potentially game tying possessions by Notre Dame in the final moments.
Jarett Kearse hit a pair of free throws with 45 seconds left to give WVU a five-point advantage, but Notre Dame (12-13, 6-8) cut the lead to 83-80 on two free throws by Martin Ingelsby with 13.4 seconds left.
On its ensuing possession, WVU center Tom Beynon let a cross court pass from Marcus Goree slip through his hands and out of bounds, giving the Irish the ball with 10 seconds left.
But a 3-point attempt by Ingelsby fell short and Goree grabbed the rebound as he got fouled. Goree, who finished with a team-high 27 points, connected on two free throws with 1 second left for the final margin.
Troy Murphy led Notre Dame with 32 points on 9-of-18 shooting. He also grabbed 16 rebounds. Antoni Wyche had 14 points for the Irish, followed by Harold Swanagan with 11.
Scott finished with 21 points for WVU, which led 43-32 at halftime. Kearse scored 13, hitting three of five shots from 3-point range.
West Virginia hit 46.2 percent of its shots from the field, while the Irish connected on 41.7 percent.