Aug. 24, 2008
DUBLIN, Ireland – Kyle McAlarney scored 22 points and Luke Harangody finished with 19 points as Notre Dame finished defeated Iceland 90-65 to take first place in the inaugural Emerald Hoops International Basketball Series at the National Basketball Arena in Dublin.
With the victory, Notre Dame completed an impressive six-game sweep on its Ireland tour. McAlarney was named Tournament MVP as he averaged 26.3 points in the three game.
Tory Jackson was named the Molten MVP of the game as he once again did it all for the Irish on both ends of the floor. Jackson finished with five points, six rebounds and three steals.
Also in double figures Notre Dame were Carleton Scott and Ryan Ayers as they finished with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Notre Dame shot 43.6 percent from the field and 39.4 percent from beyond the three-point stripe. The Irish also owned a great advantage from the free-throw line, hitting 17 of its 22 attempts, and outrebounded Iceland 44-33.
Harangody also finished with a double-double as he grabbed 11 boards in the contest. The started out strong in the game and jumped out to an early 9-0 advantage on five points from McAlarney. Iceland was able to cut the deficit to one (11-10) with 4:37 to play, but three-pointers by McAlarney and Luke Zeller helped the Irish gain a 25-13 lead after the first quarter. Notre Dame’s defense also held Iceland scoreless for the final 2:39 of the quarter and without a field goal until the 8:50 mark of the second quarter.
McAlarney finished with 16 first-half points as the Irish took a commanding 52-28 lead into the locker room.
Harangody, who finished with six first-half points, tallied 13 in the second half and the first seven points for Logi Gunnarsson was the lone player from Iceland in double figures as he finished with a game-high 27 points.
“This was a real special experience for us,” head coach Mike Brey said. “It was good to end the trip with a win. We were focused from the very start of the game and wanted to finish off the way we started the trip in our first game.
“We learned a lot about ourselves and have some things to work once we getting going in October, but overall I couldn’t be more pleased with how we played, and more importantly, what great ambassadors our team was for our University while we were over here. This has truly been a once-in-a-lifetime experience for all of us.”