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Irish 81, Providence 74

Jan. 31, 2008

Recap |  Final Stats |  AP Gallery 

Head Coach Mike Brey

On the intensity of the crowd...
"They were awesome. I don't think we put it into overtime without our sixth man."

On Notre Dame's fast start in overtime...
"At the start of overtime I said, 'Let's see if we can start the overtime like we started the game.' We did get off too a pretty good start there."

On the performance of Notre Dame's sophomores...
"I thought tonight our sophomores wouldn't let us lose. Those two guys (Luke Harangody and Tory Jackson), with their demeanor and toughness, were not going to let us lose tonight."

On Ryan Ayers' play off the bench...
"I talked to him and said, 'I want you to try to get double figures now coming off the bench for us.' He made some shots right away and got some key rebounds. He's a great example of a guy who has accepted his role. Everybody wants to start, but he knows that's the role we need right now and I think he's done a great job with it."

On the elite play of Luke Harangody...
"He's a great story. I think we saw this coming last year, but now he's got himself in great shape. His will to get his hands on the ball is just amazing. I don't even know what happened at the end of regulation, but somehow he came up with the ball and got fouled. Then he sinks two free throws no problem, only the two biggest free throws of the year. His and Jackson's toughness and will, even last year as freshmen, help us a lot."

Notre Dame Player Quotes

Sophomore Guard Tory Jackson

On overtime ...
"We didn't want to lose, especially on our home court. If we could get it to overtime, or get a stop at the end of the game, we thought we would win."

On his thoughts at the end of regulation ...
"It [the steal] was a reaction. They did the play a couple times before with McDermott handling the ball. We take pride in our home floor, and I knew I had to do something to help us win." Sophomore Forward Luke Harangody

On his reactions to the game ...
"It was the closest game this season at home. It was a high-pressured situation and I think we did a good job."

On the emotions of the players ...
"This is a huge win for us. It is one we really needed. It was a hard fought game and we came out with a win."

Senior Forward Rob Kurz

On his emotions during regulation ...
"It was a bizarre situation, especially how Luke ended up getting the ball. If he didn't it would've been a two-possession game. It was a critical play in the game."

On his first shot in overtime ...
"It was a horrible game for me, but coach always says be willing to stick the next one. So we have to be willing to take the next shot. I had to step up because I knew that would be a big shot."

Junior Forward Zach Hillesland

On their performance tonight ...
"We came out in overtime. It was a Big East win, and we will take as many of those as we can. I took some jumpers today, more so than I usually take. We had a good balance of guys shooting and play defense well."

Junior Guard Kyle McAlarney

On Tory Jackson in overtime ...
"His energy on the defensive end is something that no one can match. He had a big steal at the end of regulation that almost went in. He's confident out there and he can do anything he wants."

On his reactions to the win at home ...
"We are really focused on this weekend. These next two home games are really important to us. We are glad that we won today, and we have another big one coming up."

Junior Guard Ryan Ayers

On the last 30 seconds of the game ...
"It was tough, a lot of shots that we usually hit weren't going in. We have so much confidence in each other and we said we would win the game. Luke rebounded really well for us tonight and hit his free throws."

Providence Coach Tim Welsh

On the outcome of the game...
"Our guys gave it a valiant effort. We played with a passion that we talked about after the last couple games, especially on the defensive end of the floor. We did a great job holding them to 32-percent shooting in the second half, out rebounding them, we did everything but finish the game. You can't shoot 38-percent from the foul line on the road against a top-25 team, in my mind, and expect to win."

"We make one more free throw in regulation and we would have won. It didn't happen, our kids are distraught. They fought their hearts out. They played exactly how I wanted them to play, but we didn't finish the game. We didn't knock down free throws and we turned it over twice in the last 20 seconds of the game."

On the overtime period...
"We were a little shaken at the end of regulation. We came out and we didn't guard the first couple possessions."

On the turnover at the end of regulation...
"I know what he (Geoff McDermott) did. I think he was being over smart in that he got the rebound, knew that they were going to foul, saw a better free throw shooter, a guard, standing next to him and tried to shuffle it to him. And Harangody made a nice play. In that case it has got to be 100-percent or you crouch it and wait for them to foul you."

On the play of Notre Dame forward Luke Harangody...
"Player of the year so far, at the halfway point, in the league. He has got my vote. He is terrific, unbelievably good."

On getting prepared for the next game...
"We got to make sure we bring it. We have to just put this game away and bounce back tomorrow and get back up on our feet. Sometimes it can just roll into the next game."

Providence Players

Sophomore Guard Dwain Williams On tonight's loss...
"It's always tough playing on the road in overtime, but those two threes off the bat really killed us. When we got behind, they did a good job of keeping us behind."

Junior Forward Geoff McDermott

On Harangody's play...
"We played well on Harangody. We bodied up on him and boxed him out, but he came out to play us. He did a good job finishing and getting offensive rebounds. He did a good job out there."

On their defense in the second half...
"We played well. I don't think they hit a three in the second half. We were boxing out better and we got the stops we needed to come back."