February 22, 2003

Tech stuck with Notre Dame for a half, but the Hokies simply couldn't overcome Notre Dame's hot second-half shooting as the Irish buried the Hokies 98-76 in a BIG EAST game Saturday afternoon in front of 11,450 fans at the Joyce Center in South Bend, Ind.

Notre Dame, ranked 12th in the Associated Press poll and 10th in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll, shot 72 percent and scored 64 points in the second half in racking up the most points ever against Tech in a BIG EAST game. The Irish improved to 14-0 at home this season. Meanwhile, Tech fell to 10-15 overall, 3-9 in the BIG EAST.

Notre Dame got off to a hot start, jumping out to a 16-4 lead as point guard Chris Thomas scored 10 points before the first media timeout. But Tech gradually got back into the game, thanks largely to the play of big, 300-pound Terry Taylor. The burly senior scored 15 first-half points, including a lay-up with three seconds left in the half to pull the Hokies within one, 34-33, at halftime.

Notre Dame, though, scored the first six points of the second half and eventually led by as many as 18. Tech cut it to 13 and had a chance to cut it farther, but Dimari Thompkins missed a breakaway dunk with nine minutes left and Notre Dame's Matt Carroll came down and buried a 3-pointer. That pretty much put an end to Tech's chances.

"We knew how dangerous they were going in," Tech head coach Ricky Stokes said. "For a half, we played well, but then Thomas really attacked us on the break and they hit some shots. You have to give them credit. They're a good basketball team."

Notre Dame, which shot 55.4 percent for the game and pounded Tech on the boards 43-28, placed four players in double figures, including three who scored at least 20. Carroll led the way with 25 points, while Danny Miller added 22. Thomas finished with 21 points, 13 assists, six rebounds and three steals in 34 minutes.

"In the second half, they got the transition game going," Tech's Bryant Matthews said. "And they were going inside-outside and knocking it down. They've got a lot of good shooters."

Taylor led the Hokies with 27 points on 10-of-16 from the floor. He also hit 7-of-8 from the free-throw line. The Hokies got 19 points and four assists from Matthews.

Having played five of its past seven games on the road, Tech now heads home for a three-game homestand. The Hokies will face Pittsburgh on Feb. 26th, with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m.