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GREENVILLE, South Carolina (Ticker) -- Someone forget to tell Notre Dame that 8-9 games are supposed to be close. The Fighting Irish buried Charlotte behind a deadly three-pronged attack. Ryan Humphrey and Matt Carroll scored 20 points apiece and David Graves added 19 as the eighth-seeded Fighting Irish blew out the 49ers in the second half en route to an 82-63 victory in a South Region first-round contest. Humphrey also grabbed 11 rebounds and made all 10 of his free throws while starters Harold Swanagan and freshman Chris Thomas each contributed eight points for the Fighting Irish, who shot 48 percent (30-of-63) from the field. The first half settled little as the teams battled to a 35-35 tie, but Notre Dame (22-10) outscored Charlotte, 47-28, in the second half and led by as many as 24. The Fighting Irish, who lost to Connecticut in the semifinals of the Big East tournament, advanced to the second round for the second straight year and will take on top-seeded Duke on Saturday. Charlotte, which received an at-large berth out of Conference USA, closed its season at 18-12. The 49ers were making their second straight tournament appearance and fifth in six years. The 19-point margin of victory was the biggest for the Irish in the NCAA Tournament since a 100-77 win over Houston in the first round in 1978, when Notre Dame reached the Final Four. The Fighting Irish broke it open by making 10-of-19 3-pointers. Carroll was 8-of-12 from the field and hit 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. Charlotte had all kinds of trouble attacking Notre Dame's halfcourt defense, shooting under 34 percent (21-of-62) from the field, including just 7-of-26 from 3-point range. Curtis Nash scored 15 points and Kevin Johnson added 10 off the bench for Charlotte. Notre Dame held Jobey Thomas, the 49ers' leading scorer, to five points -- 13 below his average. Jobey Thomas, who played with a stomach virus and needed intravenous fluids, started but was off target all evening, making just 2-of-12 shots. Ironically, Jobey Thomas was Carroll's teammate this past summer on an NIT All-Star team that toured Europe. Notre Dame opened the second half with a 29-10 burst and never looked back. Graves' 3-pointer gave the Irish their first double-figure lead, 50-40, with 15:01 left. Humphrey, Carroll and Graves added 3-pointers during the run as the Fighting Irish opened a 64-45 bulge with seven minutes remaining. Charlotte made just five field goals in the second half and scored 10 points in the first 13 minutes of the period. |
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