Notre Dame Wins Tough Over Texas

In a game that might be a preview for an NCAA tournament game come March, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the Texas Longhorns 81-80. The play of both teams was exceptional and at a level much higher than is usually seen at a Thanksgiving tournament. Junior Luke Harangody took over the game for the Irish with a huge second half, leading them to the finals of the EA Sports Maui Invitational.

Harangody scored 19 of his 29 points in the second half, and he grabbed 11 rebounds in the game. Kyle McAlarney continued his streak from the three point line, hitting five 3-pointers and scoring 19 overall. Tory Jackson was a big contributor as well with 16 points and 7 assists. Mike Brey wanted to see his team play tough, and that is exactly what they did.

Texas led in every category but overall points. They outrebounded the Irish 45-33, and did much better from the free throw line, shooting 57.1% to Notre Dame's 47.6%. Longhorns coach Rick Barnes took advantage of his deeper bench, and got 19 points from the non-starters. Still, it wasn't enough for Texas, who came into the game ranked sixth in the country. They had to play catch-up the entire game, and couldn't score enough points when they needed it most.

The Irish move on to the finals of the Maui Invitational where they will face the winner of the Oregon/North Carolina. Notre Dame's top challenge will be to figure out a way to use their bench more effectively. The non-starters only scored three points for the Irish tonight, and with playing three games in three days, fatigue will affect the team. The final tips off at 9 p.m. Wednesday night on ESPN.

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