Dec 27, 2001

Notre Dame vs. Alabama Box Score

By MARY FOSTER
AP Sports Writer

NEW ORLEANS – Rod Grizzard wanted just one thing late in the game – the ball.

He got it and No. 21 Alabama got a 79-76 victory over Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl Classic on Thursday night.

“As always, I want the ball when the game is on the line,” said Grizzard, who scored nine of his 21 points over the final 2:37.

Notre Dame (9-2), off to its best start since 1985, shook off a lethargic start to make a game of it in the second half.

Alabama (10-2) led by 18 points at halftime, but Notre Dame rallied to take a 62-61 lead on a 3-pointer by Chris Thomas with 6:22 remaining.

“It’s a shame we have to be down 10 or 15 before we look up at the scoreboard and start to play,” Thomas said. “We just gave them too much of a lead in the first half.”

Notre Dame’s David Graves hit a 3-pointer to tie the game 67-67 with 4:57 left. But Alabama took the lead for good on a free throw by Terrance Meade, a basket by Erwin Dudley and five points from the field and two free throws by Grizzard as the Crimson Tide went up 77-76 with 1:23 left.

Jordan Cornette’s basket with 14 seconds remaining pulled Notre Dame within 77-76. Grizzard made two free throws with 12 seconds left and Ryan Humphrey’s 3-point attempt from the corner at the buzzer bounced off the rim.

“Almost,” Humphrey said of the desperate attempt. “There was a lot of almost out there.”

Dudley had 20 points and 11 rebounds for Alabama, while Meade and Maurice Williams each scored 11 points.

Graves led Notre Dame with 21 points. Humphrey scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds, Thomas had 14 points and Matt Carroll had 13.

It was just the second meeting between the schools. The first was in 1956, also at the Sugar Bowl, an 86-80 Notre Dame win.

Notre Dame was 9-for-32 from the field (28 percent) in the first half, including a dry spell of 6{ minutes without a score.

“In the first half their man-to-man defense flustered us on the offensive end,” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said.

Alabama was up 23-19 with 7:37 left in the half, then went on a 10-0 run, started by Ernest Shelton’s 3-pointer. The Tide was ahead 39-19 by the time Graves scored for the Irish. Notre Dame also missed four free throws during the stretch and was 4-of-9 in the first half.

The Irish, who trailed 41-23 at halftime, rediscovered their shooting touch at the beginning of the second half, going on a 24-11 run to cut Alabama’s lead to 52-47 with 11:48 left.

“I didn’t think at the half we had it won,” Alabama coach Mark Gottfried said. “I thought they would make a run at us, but not like that.”