The ball and perhaps the game were hanging in the air, waiting to be seized. And, symbolic of its season gone awry, Rutgers let both slip through its fingertips in a gut-wrenching 71-68 loss to 20th-ranked Notre Dame.
Off a missed Irish free throw, Rutgers players Byron Joynes and Earl Pettis collided and let the rebound go off their hands and out of bounds. Three seconds later, Notre Dame’s cold-blooded Kyle McAlarney – Staten Island’s all-time leading scorer – did what he does best: ice the game away.
“Whew. It’s a feeling of relief when that happens. The ball just bounced our way, gave us a second shot,” said McAlarney, a Moore Catholic product who had 16 points and was determined to take – and make – those shots. “I want that shot. I put a lot of pressure on myself. That’s my specialty.
“I need the ball in that situation, and I wanted it. I’m close to home; obviously it’s a lot of pressure, but you’ve got to want the ball in that situation. To hit those free throws, you’ve got to want to shoot them.”
In a game of back-and-forth runs and pendulum-like momentum, it’s hard to say that Notre Dame (19-5, 9-3 Big East) wanted it more. It just has two things Rutgers doesn’t: a deadeye and the luck of the Irish. Both came back to haunt RU, which has lost six straight to fall to 10-17, 2-12.
“That’s what we talked about in the locker room: the luck of the Irish,” said guard Tory Jackson, who had 17 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists, finding Rob Kurz for a baseline jumper and 69-66 lead with :43 left.
Anthony Farmer’s foul shots cut it to one with 29 seconds remaining, and after running off half the remaining clock, RU finally put Luke Harangody on the line with :13.1 to play.
He missed the front end of a one-and-one; but they couldn’t grab the rebound, and with :09.9 left, McAlarney cashed in on the reprieve. Corey Chandler missed a 25-footer at the buzzer.
“Nothing I can say. We both went for the ball; we just didn’t come up with it,” said Joynes. “I didn’t see him, and I’m sure he didn’t know I was going to go for it. He just came behind me. Things like that happen.”
All too often for RU, which missed nine straight (including four layups) to spark a 10-1 first-half Irish run, then missed 11 of 12 (seven layups) to spark a 15-2 second-half spurt. Then McAlarney showed them how to finish.
Notre Dame 71 Rutgers 68
