Jan 7, 2004
Notre Dame West Virginia Box Score
By TOM COYNE
AP Sports Writer
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Torrian Jones had 17 points and a career-high 13 rebounds and Torin Francis added 17 points to lead Notre Dame to a 63-52 victory over West Virginia on Wednesday night.
The Irish (7-3, 1-0) held West Virginia (7-4, 0-1) to 38 percent shooting, the Mountaineers’ second worst shooting game this season, and the 52 points scored by the Mountaineers were the second fewest ever allowed by Notre Dame in a Big East game.
It was Notre Dame’s fifth straight win overall and their eighth straight against West Virginia.
Chris Thomas added 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Irish and Chris Quinn scored 11 as Notre Dame shot 44 percent despite making just 3-of-19 3-pointers.
Kevin Pittsnogle led the Mountaineers with 15 points. D’or Fischer had nine points and six blocked shots. Drew Schifino saw his streak of games in double figures in scoring end at 48 games as he finished with nine points on 4-of-9 shooting.
Notre Dame took command with a 15-5 run midway through the second half as Quinn made a pair of 3-pointers to end an 0-for-12 start by the Irish. Jones capped the run with a three-point play to make it 48-32 midway through the second half.
The Mountaineers used a 12-6 run to cut the lead to 52-44 when Schifino scored on a layup following a steal with 5:49 left. But the Mountaineers couldn’t get any closer.
The Irish, who struggled at times inside during non-conference play this season, attacked the Mountaineers inside from the start as Jones scored on a layup 10 seconds in. Notre Dame didn’t hit its first basket outside the paint until Thomas hit a 15-foot fallaway jumper 5 minutes in to make it 11-4.
But the Irish went right back to work inside, with just three of their 13 baskets in the first half coming from outside the paint. The Irish controlled the boards as well, outrebounding the Mountaineers 20-11 in the first half to take a 33-25 halftime lead.
For the game the Irish outscored West Virginia 32-22 inside and outrebounded the Mountaineers 43-26.