Mike Brey probably needed some antacids as soon as Notre Dame finished holding off a late charge by Howard in a 71-68 win. An 11-point lead with less than three minutes to go was cut down to one as the Bison (6-8) imposed a full-court press that the Irish (11-6) simply could not shake off. It took a late layup by Prentiss Hubb and a missed Bison 3-pointer in the final seconds for the Irish to escape enemy territory with a victory.
Nate Laszewski was the big player for the Irish as he scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for his third double-double this season. Dane Goodwin also scored 17, and Blake Wesley added 13 to break Troy Murphy’s program record for most double-digit scoring games by a true freshman (14). Of course, all anyone wanted to talk about after this game was how close it was. Here are some of Brey’s comments from his postgame news conference: