National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Notre Dame 83, Gonzaga 79
When: 8:30 PM ET, Saturday, December 11, 2010
Where: Joyce Center, South Bend, Indiana
Officials: # John Cahill, # Jeff Clark, # Karl Hess
Attendance: 8570

Carleton Scott and Tim Abromaitis combined for 44 points and No. 23 Notre Dame held off a furious rally to defeat visiting Gonzaga 83-79 in a non-conference game Saturday night.

Notre Dame led by 11 points with a 1:32 to play, but the Bulldogs cut the deficit to two points in the final seconds before Ben Hansbrough knocked down four free throws to ice the game.

Notre Dame, which suffered its first loss of the season last time out at Kentucky, took the lead midway through the first half and never trailed again. The Fighting Irish led 43-37 at the half but Gonzaga (4-5) tied the game at 50 on a layup by Marquise Carter.

Abromaitis then scored eight straight points on a pair of 3-pointers and a dunk to give the Irish a 58-50 lead.

Gonzaga, which fell out of the Top 25 after two straight losses last week, was led by Steven Gray with 18 points.

Notre Dame (9-1), which improved to 6-0 at home this season, led by as many as 14 points in the second half. The Bulldogs cut into the lead late in the contest hitting a trio of 3-pointers.

They trailed 77-74 with 32 seconds left before Notre Dame hit 2 of 4 free throws to extend the lead to 79-74. Gonzaga’s Mangisto Arop then banked in a 3-pointer, but the Bulldogs were forced to foul and Hansbrough put the game away on the line.

Scott led Notre Dame with 23 points and Abromaitis had 21 points and eight rebounds.
Top Game Performances
 
Gonzaga   Notre Dame
Elias Harris 19 Scoring Carleton Scott 23
Steven Gray 8 Assists Tyrone Nash 5
Robert Sacre 6 Rebounds Tim Abromaitis 8
Elias Harris 6 Free Throws Made Carleton Scott 8
Marquise Carter 1 Steals Jack Cooley 2
Robert Sacre 2 Blocks Jack Cooley 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Gonzaga 79 52.7 11-20 10-12 20 21 3 3
Notre Dame 83 50.0 11-20 24-36 19 27 2 6