No Pride Lost

• Box Score

NEW YORK – There will never be such a thing as moral victories in sports but Friday’s classic Big East semifinal with top-seeded Georgetown has to come pretty close for Notre Dame.

The look in the eyes of the Irish players afterward showed clearly that they were on the wrong side of this 84-82 epic at The Garden. But the hunger in their voices showed they are going to be a dangerous team next week when the conference tournaments give way to much bigger things.

“It’s not a win, but this is a pretty good display of who we are,” said Irish coach Mike Brey, who projects his Irish as a No. 5 seed next week. “I think our profile is very strong for (Selection) Sunday evening.”

Notre Dame looked unbeatable, then in trouble, then hopeful, then finally finished when Big East Player of the Year Jeff Green hit a little 10-foot jump hook to break an 82-82 tie with 13 seconds left to win it for Georgetown.

Irish guard Russell Carter had a chance to win it for Notre Dame but his open three-pointer bounced out at the buzzer and with it went the Irish hopes for a first time trip to the East Tournament championship game.

“Our heads will be up tomorrow morning and we’ll be excited about playing because we’re getting better and playing really well at the right time,” Brey said. “Georgetown is really, really good.”

It’s difficult deciding where to begin the description of the ebb, flows and drama this game provided. Notre Dame led by 14 points midway through the first half, but only by two at halftime when the Hoyas scored on 10 straight possessions.

Georgetown led 76-69 with five minutes left in the game, only to see Tory Jackson score seven straight points on some sick driving moves to tie things up. From there, the lead was swapped two more times before Georgetown finally had the only one that really matters.

Jackson continues to improve exponentially seemingly with every game. He finished with 20 points, eight rebounds, five assists and became a one-man show that had everybody in the building amazed while bringing the Irish back.

“The crowd was in it. The referees looked like they were in it,” Jackson said. “There was so much excitement out there. It really don’t hurt. We’re doing a great job. We just got to build on it. It’s one and done from now on.”

There were plenty of heroes on both benches. Green earned final honors with his game-winning bucket and career-high 30 points along with 12 rebounds. Jackson was a close second but it was Carter who had a chance to become the clear hero until his bid for a sixth three pointer missed left. Carter finished with a team-high 21 points and created a potential game-winning shot that he would make many times.

“When I saw the look he got, I’m thinking, ‘I can live with this,’” Brey said of Carter’s shot. “And I really thought it was going in.”

It didn’t, and so the Hoyas (25-6) narrowly escape with a spot in the Saturday’s championship game against the winner of Pittsburgh and Louisville. Even so, there’s a strong feeling that all is right with the Irish (24-7).

If nothing else, Notre Dame showed vast improvement from the first time to the teams met and Georgetown handed the Irish a 66-48 defeat. Notre Dame hit 48 points just one minute in the second half Friday night.