Notre Dame Hoopsters Come Through

Two big games, one win for the Gipper. Notre Dame had a much better night on the basketball court than at the Sugar Bowl. <br/><br/>Russell Carter scored 19 points, Luke Harangody added 15 and the Fighting

Thursday, January 4th 2007, 6:06 am

By: News On 6

Two big games, one win for the Gipper. Notre Dame had a much better night on the basketball court than at the Sugar Bowl.

Russell Carter scored 19 points, Luke Harangody added 15 and the Fighting Irish beat Louisville 78-62 on Wednesday in the Big East opener for both teams.

Freshman point guard Tory Jackson added 14 points, five rebounds and four assists in his second start for No. 17 Notre Dame (13-1), which has won 12 straight for the first time in nearly 33 years.

``I'm surprised they're not ranked higher because of the way they execute and shoot the basketball,'' Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. ``They're a legitimate contender. They're very good.''

The Irish had little luck on the football field, though. They were blown out 41-14 by LSU at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, their ninth straight bowl loss _ more than any other school.

Back on campus in South Bend, Ind., the basketball game was moved up to 6 p.m. EST to accommodate fans who wanted to watch the Sugar Bowl at 8 p.m. The Joyce Center, nearly filled at the start, was half empty at the final buzzer thanks to Notre Dame's large lead.

``This wasn't a crowd that was going to scare the hell out of you,'' Pitino said. ``It was more Notre Dame's talent and ability to execute than it was being away from home. It's just their team _ they're very, very good. Some places you go, they're hanging from the rafters and every play is difficult. That would be the case if they didn't have a football game.''

In other games involving ranked teams, it was: No. 2 North Carolina 102, Pennsylvania 64; No. 20 Air Force 81, Colorado St. 75; No. 23 Clemson 68, Florida St 66; and No. 25 West Virginia 67, Villanova 56.

Jackson was thrown into the starting lineup after Kyle McAlarney was arrested on a marijuana possession charge last week and suspended indefinitely.

``What can we say about the young point guard we rushed in there?'' Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. ``He's a warrior, and I'm proud of him. This is a big maturing process for him.''

Rob Kurz added 10 points, nine rebounds and six assists as the Irish improved to 11-0 at home.

Terrence Williams led the Cardinals (10-5) with 18 points. It was Louisville's worst loss of the season and it snapped a five-game winning streak.

No. 2 North Carolina 102, Pennsylvania 64

At Chapel Hill, N.C., Tyler Hansbrough and Reyshawn Terry scored 19 points apiece, and North Carolina won its 10th straight.

Wayne Ellington scored 17 points and fellow freshman Brandan Wright added 12 for North Carolina (13-1), which fell behind by 10 early but used a 27-4 run late in the first half to take command against the Quakers (6-6).

The Tar Heels remained perfect since Gonzaga handed them their only loss on Nov. 22 in the semifinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off.

Ibrahim Jaaber scored 21 points for Penn, which has lost four of six.

No. 20 Air Force 81, Colorado St. 75

At Fort Collins, Colo., Dan Nwaelele led a balanced offense with 22 points and Air Force shot 15-for-27 on 3-pointers to win its 10th game in a row.

Jacob Burtschi and Tim Anderson each added 17 points for Air Force (14-1). Tim McCraw had 16 points for the Falcons, who have beaten Colorado State five straight times and matched last season's school-record start of 14 wins in 15 games.

Jason Smith led Colorado State (10-3) with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Cory Lewis scored 18 points, but the Rams had their nine-game winning streak snapped.

No. 23 Clemson 68, Florida St. 66

At Tallahassee, Fla., Cliff Hammonds' layup with 3 seconds left lifted Clemson past Florida State in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both schools.

Vernon Hamilton, who led Clemson with 19 points, brought the ball up and fired a pass to Hammonds for the winner. Clemson (15-0) remains one of the country's last three unbeaten major college teams, joining No. 16 Oregon and top-ranked UCLA.

Florida State (12-3) tied it with 6.5 seconds left on a tip-in by Ryan Reid. Al Thornton led the Seminoles with 19 points.

No. 25 West Virginia 67, Villanova 56

Frank Young set career highs with 25 points and eight 3-pointers for host West Virginia. Joe Alexander scored 16 points and Alex Ruoff added 11 for the Mountaineers (12-1, 2-0 Big East).

Curtis Sumpter, the Big East's second-leading scorer, led the Wildcats (10-3, 0-1) with 21 points. Villanova has dropped three straight to West Virginia.