West Virginia Vs. Notre Dame: Irish Use Strong 2nd Half To Blow Out 'Eers, 71-44

It was a mere twenty minutes of basketball ago that WVU fan's were optimistic, with the 'Eers trailing by a mere two points at halftime. How quickly things would change. Notre Dame came out in the second half with guns blazing and quickly buried the Mountaineers with a barrage of threes as they rattled off a 20-4 run. By the time the half was only seven minutes old, it was quickly apparent that the game was effectively over.

For the game, Notre Dame shot a blistering 62 percent, while the Mountaineers struggled enormously, shooting 32 percent for the game. The Irish were 9-of-16 from behind the arc and seemed to hit everything they took from downtown in the second half.

Bob Huggins used the opportunity to give serious second half minutes to walk on Paul Williamson and little-used freshman Tommie McCune. He knew the game was over even though there was plenty of time left on the clock. Kevin Jones struggled all night and scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds, but it was little help in the face of the Irish's scoring onslaught.

The Notre Dame students chanted "N-I-T" in the games waning moments, and they might be right. If the Mountaineers don't win both of their home games next week it seems certain.

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When West Virginia and Notre Dame meet on the basketball court, the end result is almost always a slow, defensive contest, and tonight's affair is no different. West Virginia trail the Irish 30-28 at halftime.

Senior guard Truck Bryant was back in the starting lineup after his benching in the Mountaineers' last contest, and he seems motivated by the opportunity. Bryant has played well, tallying 10 points, three assists and two steals while playing all 20 minutes of the first half. Amazingly, his most impressive play was a missed dunk while getting fouled by Scott Martin. I just didn't know he had the hops to even try it.

Bob Huggins chose to include freshman Gary Browne in the starting lineup again tonight, this time benching fellow freshman Keaton Miles, who hasn't seen the court so far tonight. While Browne hasn't filled the scorebook so far, he has paced the Mountaineers with his hustle, especially on defense.

The Mountaineers are attempting to attack the Irish underneath, and Deniz Kilicli has found some success, while Kevin Jones has seen shots rim out. In the half, both Kilicli and Jones had six points and three rebounds apiece.

The Irish were led by star forward Jack Cooley, who scored 11 points and hauled in four rebounds