SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Tim Abromaitis scored 20 points and Tyrone Nash added 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead No. 15 Notre Dame to a 69-55 win over No. 9 Georgetown on Wednesday night in the Big East conference opener.
Back-to-back 3-pointers from Abromaitis and Scott Martin sparked a 14-2 Notre Dame in the second half to put the Irish up by 16 points with 11:51 to play.
Georgetown answered back with a 9-0 run to cut the Irish lead to seven points 3 minutes later. But Abromaitis and Ben Hansbrough hit consecutive 3s for Notre Dame with just over six minutes to go to push the lead back to double digits.
Austin Freeman, who scored 21 to lead Georgetown, had four straight to get the deficit back under 10, but a three-point play by Abromaitis ended the Hoyas' chances for a late comeback.
The Irish (12-1) used an 8-0 run in the first half to take the lead, which they did not relinquish.
The Hoyas (11-2), who came into the game second in the nation shooting 52.8 percent from the field, were held to 42.6 percent in their first loss. Georgetown guards Chris Wright and Jason Clark, each averaging 13.7 points, combined to score just 11. Wright managed only three points on 1-of-9 shooting, missing all five of his 3-point attempts.
It was their first loss in a Big East opener under coach John Thompson III.
Hansbrough finished with 17 for Notre Dame, including making all 10 of his free throw attempts. The Irish enjoyed a huge advantage from the line, shooting 22-of-27 while Georgetown went just 5-of-9. Martin chipped in 11 points.
