Notre Dame Extends Win Streak To Five
The luck of the Irish has been good, winning their fifth straight game Sunday as they faced Rutgers. Although, luck has nothing to do with it. Notre Dame's talent has been shining all season.
Ben Hansbrough scored 25 points and Carleton Scott had 12 points and 11 rebounds to lead No. 9 Notre Dame to its fifth straight win, 76-69 victory over Rutgers on Sunday.
The Irish (19-4, 8-3) reclaimed sole possession of second place in the Big East behind No. 4 Pittsburgh and will host No. 15 Louisville on Wednesday.
Scott Martin had 14 points for Notre Dame and Tim Abromaitis added 10.
Jonathan Mitchell scored 24 points for Rutgers (12-11, 3-8) while Dane Miller added 11.
Notre Dame was 27 of 34 from the free throw line and scored only two field goals over the last 8 minutes. Rutgers was 8 of 12 from the line.
Notre Dame pulled away from a 7-7 tie with a 17-6 run that included five straight points and a nice assist by Hansbrough. The Irish stretched the lead to 25-15 before a 3-pointer by the Scarlet Knights' James Beatty started a 7-0 run and got Rutgers within 25-22.
Notre Dame led 37-33 at halftime with Hansbrough scoring 10 points.
The teams battled evenly in the second half before two free throws by Martin started an 8-2 run that made it 51-43 with 12:36 to play. Consecutive 3-pointers by Rutgers made it a two-point game before a layup by Hansbrough sparked an 11-2 run that gave the Irish a 62-51 lead.
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