SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Marcus Hammond and Cormac Ryan each scored 20 points as Notre Dame won longtime coach Mike Brey's final home game with an 88-81 victory over No.
25 Pittsburgh on Wednesday night. Nate Laszewski and Trey Wertz each added 14 points as the Fighting Irish (11-19, 3-16 Atlantic Coast Conference) snapped a seven-game losing streak.
Brey, who is stepping down at season's end and received warm ovations from the crowd before and after the game, improved to 315-76 at Purcell Pavilion over 23 years as Notre Dame coach. «What an unbelievable night,» Brey said over the public address. «We defended pretty much the whole game.
I thought we were good defensively.… It was neat for our seniors to finish like that.» Jamarius Burton, Nelly Cummings and Nike Sibande all scored 19 points, and Blake Hinson added 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Panthers (21-9, 14-5), who entered with wins in eight of their last nine games.