March 9, 2007
Notre Dame vs Georgetown BIG EAST Semifinals Box Score
NEW YORK (AP) -Jeff Green had a career-high 30 points, including the winning basket with 13 seconds left, and 12 rebounds to lead No. 9 Georgetown to an 84-82 victory over No. 20 Notre Dame in the semifinals of the Big East tournament Friday night.
DaJuan Summers added 18 points and Patrick Ewing Jr. tied his career high of 15 to help the top-seeded Hoyas (25-6) advance to the final for the first time since 1996 with their 14th win in 15 games.
After Green muscled his way for the go-ahead layup, the Big East player of the year missed the ensuing free throw. The Irish had a chance for the win, but Russell Carter’s 3-point shot bounced high off the rim and the Hoyas’ Jon Wallace chased down the loose ball and heaved it high in the air toward midcourt.
Summers hugged Green near midcourt after the final buzzer and Hoyas coach John Thompson III got a high-five and pat on the back from his father, who led the Hoyas to their six Big East tournament titles from 1982-89.
Carter had 21 points, including five 3s, and freshman guard Tory Jackson added 20 for fourth-seeded Notre Dame (24-7), which snapped a six-game winning streak.
Georgetown, which beat the Irish for the fourth straight time, also eliminated Notre Dame last year with a 67-63 win in the quarterfinals.
Jackson scored the first seven points during a 9-0 run that gave the Irish their last lead, 78-76, with 2:54 to go. The freshman had a three-point play, a layup after he spun around a defender in the paint, and the tying basket with 3:24 left.
Jackson, who took over at point guard after Kyle McAlarney was suspended from school for his arrest in late December on a marijuana possession charge, finished one point short of his season high after combining for 14 in the last two games.
Rob Kurz capped the spurt with two free throws.
Wallace and Roy Hibbert hit consecutive jumpers to give the Hoyas the lead back with 1:59 left. Summers made two free throws to stretch the advantage to 82-79.
Luke Harangody made 1 of 2 from the line and Jackson had a driving layup to tie the score for the final time with 40.5 seconds left.
Ewing, playing in the arena where his father had a stellar career for the New York Knicks after four years at Georgetown under the former coach John Thompson, brought a high level of intensity and energy in his best game since transferring from Indiana after the 2004-05 season. He shot 7-for-11, including a pair of two-handed power dunks that energized the Madison Square Garden crowd.
Green had seven of the Hoyas’ nine consecutive points that gave them a 76-69 lead with 5 minutes to go. He began the spurt with a three-point play after taking a full-court pass from Wallace and slamming it.
Ewing scored six points in the first 1:48 of the second half to give Georgetown its first lead, 50-49, with a two-handed slam as he came across the front of the basket.
Carter hit a 3 to regain the lead for Notre Dame just 8 seconds later.
One day after opening with a 26-2 run against Villanova, the Hoyas started slowly against the Irish and trailed 29-17 after Luke Zeller’s tip-in for Notre Dame with 9:33 left in the first half.
Jessie Sapp had a layup and Hibbert followed with a dunk to pull the Hoyas within eight. Carter, who had four 3s in the half, hit two in a 20-second span to give the Irish their biggest lead at 35-21.
Summers’ 3 with 2:07 left started the Hoyas on a 10-2 run to close the half and pull to 46-44 at the break.