Jan. 21, 2001
Notre Dame vs. West Virginia Box Score
By TOM COYNE
Associated Press Writer
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – David Graves had 17 points and nine rebounds and Troy Murphy added 16 points as Notre Dame overcame an early 13-point deficit to beat West Virginia 78-61 on Sunday.
It was the seventh straight home victory for the Irish (11-5, 3-2 Big East) following back-to-back losses to Indiana and Miami of Ohio. For West Virginia (10-5, 2-3) it continued a six-game trend of following a win with a loss.
West Virginia, which trailed 37-30 at the half, closed to 39-37 when Tim Lyles drove the lane and scored with 16:12 left. But Notre Dame countered with a 14-2 run to move ahead 53-39 when Graves hit a 3-pointer with 12:07 left. The Mountaineers didn’t get close again.
The game was physical throughout, with four players fouling out, three from West Virginia. Mountaineer forward Chris Moss had to be restrained by coaches and an official after fouling out and spit in the direction of the Notre Dame student section while being escorted off by an assistant coach, hitting an Irish cheerleader.
Martin Ingelsby had 14 points for the Irish and Ryan Humphrey had 12 points and four blocked shots. Calvin Bowman led West Virginia with 22 points and 12 rebounds, Lionel Armstead scored 15 and Brooks Berry had 12 points
Just like a year ago, when Notre Dame fell behind by 17 points in the first half en route to a 14-point victory, the Irish started slowly. West Virginia made its first four shots, two of them 3-pointers, to take a quick 9-2 lead. The Mountaineers extended the lead to 17-4 as Notre Dame made only two of its first 14 shots, including missing nine straight.
But the Mountaineers cooled off just as quickly as they started, making just one of their next nine shots. The Irish, who switched from a zone defense to man-to-man to try to slow the Mountaineers, made 7 of 9 shots, moving ahead 24-23 when Murphy made a pair of free throws.
The Irish extended the lead to 34-24 when Graves made a 3-pointer with 3:31 left in the half.