SOUTH BEND, Ind. – On Monday night, it seemed as if every Notre Dame make was matched by a Georgetown miss, every Irish swish was countered with a Hoya clank, and every Blue and Gold highlight was balanced against a Blue and Gray blunder.

Against the No. 13 Fighting Irish on Jan. 5, No. 9 Georgetown finally outrebounded its opponent (37-34), committed just nine turnovers and received a double-double from freshman center Greg Monroe, the first of his young career. But that was not enough.

The Hoyas simply could not put the ball in the basket, whether below the rim, from outside the arc or at the free-throw line.

Despite multiple chances to make a game-changing run, Georgetown could not bury the shots necessary to get it done.

Junior forward Luke Harangody scored 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, despite playing much of the second half with four fouls, to lead Notre Dame to a 73-67 win. The Hoyas fall to 10-3 (1-2 Big East) while the Irish move to 11-3 (2-1).

Georgetown shot 41.7 percent from the field, including 22.2 percent from three, and just 59.1 percent at the line.

“We’re going to have those nights in this league and we have to be better at everything else when we’re having those nights,” Hoyas’ Head Coach John Thompson III said. “From foul shots on down, the ball just didn’t go in the basket tonight, so we have to get stops and we have to get rebounds and we have to make things more difficult for them.”

Both teams came into Monday night’s affair needing to shake off an embarrassing loss. Georgetown was shellacked, 70-54, by now-No. 1 Pittsburgh on Saturday and Notre Dame lost that same day to lowly St. John’s, 71-65.

Irish Head Coach Mike Brey said after Monday’s game that in the über-competitive Big East, a team’s ability to recover from a loss would determine its success. Against Georgetown, Notre Dame took strides toward proving its coach correct.

Of course, the Irish did have the benefit of their home court. Notre Dame’s Joyce Center does not seat as many fans as Syracuse’s Carrier Dome, nor does it put students right on top of the court like Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium. And with winter break not over for another week, the student section was seriously depleted.

Yet the home crowd touched the highest of decibel levels when necessary and the Irish players felt especially comfortable on the hardwood here. With the win, Notre Dame extends its home winning streak to 44, top in the nation.

“It is almost therapy in this building, and they really believe in this building, and that will be fine with me if they keep using it like that,” Brey said.

Brey’s team built an 11-point halftime lead thanks to timely three-point shooting and a solid diet of Harangody.

After a swooping put-back dunk by freshman forward Henry Sims gave Georgetown a 15-11 lead 11:22 into the second half, it appeared as if the Hoyas could take command.

Eight seconds later, senior guard Kyle McAlarney threw a three-pointer into the net and the Hoyas’ hopes of pulling away out the window.

After freshman guard Jason Clark banked in a long two-pointer to give Georgetown a 17-14 edge, Notre Dame’s senior forward Luke Zeller got in on the long-distance act, registering a three of his own.

Two minutes later, sophomore guard Omar Wattad’s trey put the Hoyas up by a deuce. But not to be outdone, McAlarney nailed his third deep ball of the game, this one from NBA range, to seize back the advantage.

The Irish never relinquished the lead.

For that, Notre Dame can thank Harangody, who scored the last 13 Notre Dame points of the first stanza. Over the half’s final four-and-a-half minutes, Harangody scored on a turnaround hook, a short floater, an and-one layup, a long two-point jumper and a simple pair of free throws.

“He’s good, he played well,” Thompson said of Harangody. “He’s the MVP of our league, he makes good decisions, he can score at different places on the court and they surround him with guys who can make shots.”

eanwhile, the Hoyas could not buy an outside bucket.

Sophomore guard Chris Wright shot 2-of-8 (1-of-4 from three) in the first half, with most of his jump shots missing by a wide margin. Sophomore guard Austin Freeman hit just 1-of-3 and senior guard Jessie Sapp was 0-of-2.

“Every team is potent offensively, and we are going to face runs, and we just have to weather that, to stay composed and make runs of our own,” Thompson said after the game. “This is an unforgiving league so we have to do it every night in every aspect of the game. Then, when we aren’t making shots . we still have to figure out how to win.”

Georgetown showed some fight to start the second half, ripping off a 7-0 run. Sapp connected on a three, and Monroe made a pair of layups to pull the Hoyas within four.

Notre Dame extended the lead back to eight, but then Georgetown pulled to within six. The Irish went back up by nine, but the Hoyas closed to within five. Yet again, Notre Dame extended the margin to seven, but Georgetown cut it to five.

Each time the Hoyas had a chance to make it a one-possession game, they failed, whether because they committed an offensive foul, as junior forward DaJuan Summers did at 41-36 and 49-44, or because the defense allowed Notre Dame to drill an open look, as it did at 47-42.

After the 10-minute mark, the Irish were not so forgiving. With the score 51-46, Harangody converted a layup with 8:58 to go and senior forward Zach Hillesland tipped in a McAlarney miss with 8:19 left.

Summers then made a pair of free throws, but McAlarney drilled back-to-back threes with approximately seven minutes left to push the lead to 13. Georgetown did its best to pull off a miracle comeback, pulling within five with 41 seconds to go, but for the Hoyas, it was too little too late.

Unable to connect from outside, the Blue and Gray simply could not score quickly enough.

onroe led Georgetown with 21 points and 11 boards, seven of which were offensive, and many of those came off his own misses from point-blank range. Wright, despite 5-of-14 shooting, added 13 and Summers had 11.

The loss marked the first time in nearly two years that the Hoyas have lost two consecutive games, as well as the completion of Georgetown’s brutal three-game stretch to open league play. After shocking No. 2 UConn on the road, the Hoyas have fallen on harder times.

“Clearly this stretch was difficult, but every stretch in this league is going to be difficult,” Thompson said. “Yes, it was a difficult stretch with two road games and a quick turnaround here, but so what? It’s the Big East.”

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