Quinn’s big night just not enough

Chris Quinn has played in the Petersen Events Center four times now, each year better than the… Chris Quinn has played in the Petersen Events Center four times now, each year better than the last. Not even a career night, however, was enough to pull his team to victory.

“I wish we could get him a win in here because he’s played so well in here. I think he has played better each year,” Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey said after Quinn rallied his Irish from a late deficit only to fall 100-97 in double overtime to Pitt.

“He was carrying us and basically probably over the last 12 minutes we were trying to get out of his way so he could make plays and he did make good plays,” he added.

The senior guard scored a career – and Petersen Events Center – high 37 points, hitting six of his nine 3-point attempts, each one more astounding and jaw-dropping than the last. His offensive outbreak eclipsed the record that was also held by a Notre Dame guard, Matt Carroll, who pumped in 31 points during another Irish loss back in 2003.

“Chris Quinn has always been a great player,” Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon said. “He’s a great, great player and he has made us a better program playing against him every year.”

Quinn led all scorers on the night, something few thought would happen with less than eight minutes left in regulation. At this point, he had scored only seven points on three-of-nine shooting, his team was behind and the Oakland Zoo wasn’t about to let him forget it, screaming vulgar insults at Quinn every time he touched the ball.

“I didn’t pay any attention to that,” he said of hearing obscene chants from the fans. “Anywhere you go you’re going to hear things from the fans. I just continued to play my game.”

Things got even worse for the Irish as the Panthers went on a quick surge to open up a 62-53 lead with 5:07 remaining. The lead stayed at nine with 43 seconds left, but that was all the time Quinn needed to lead a stunning rally.

He scored his team’s next seven points – including a rare four-point play – to knot the game at 77 heading into overtime. He hit shots with hands in his face, with defenders draped all over him and some even while fading away from the basket, sometimes putting him more than 35 feet away.

“Oh man,” Pitt center Aaron Gray said of Quinn’s long 3s. He took a moment, gathered his thoughts and then continued. “I think the last 3 he pulled up from about 15 feet behind the arc. You just can’t say anything. He’s such a great player. When a player is doing something like that, you’ve just got to marvel at it.”

Quinn’s hot hand carried into overtime, where he scored 10 of the Irish’s 16 points in the first extra frame, including a driving layup down the left side with five seconds left that tied the game at 93, sending the contest into a second overtime.

He scored a layup two minutes into the second overtime to give the Irish their first lead since the 9:45 mark of the second half. Moments later, he threw an alley-oop to Luke Zeller to extend the Notre Dame lead to 97-94 with 2:20 remaining.

His team wouldn’t score again, however, as Pitt pulled itself together with a 6-0 run to take the contest. Quinn ultimately fouled out with six seconds left, meaning he wasn’t out there to take the Irish’s final shot, a 25-foot heave that clanked off the rim as time expired. The bitter ending put a damper on what was otherwise one of the best performances in the Pete, a place in which Quinn will always have vivid memories of playing.

“Pitt is such a tough opponent and playing in this building is tough,” Quinn said, recalling his freshman year when the building opened. “It’s been four years now and we’ve played some tough games here but we’ve never been able to get a W.”

Loose balls-Pitt’s 100-point outing was the first time the Panthers have eclipsed the century mark in a regular-season game. It fittingly comes in the program’s 100th year -The win was the Panthers’ fifth straight over the Irish, giving them a 26-25 lead in the all-time series, the first time Pitt has led in the series since a win back in 1976-Notre Dame freshman Kyle McAlarney had a streak of four consecutive games scoring in double figures snapped when he fouled out with three points-Despite being the highest-scoring game in the history of the Petersen Events Center, Pitt produced only six fast break points while the Irish had just four-Junior center Aaron Gray’s double-double was his seventh of the season, leading all Big East players-Pitt honored three of its greatest players at halftime by raising banners to honor their retired jerseys: Don Hennon (10), Billy Knight (34) and Charles Smith (32).