The 22nd-ranked Notre Dame men's basketball team handled its first opponent of
the season, the University of Indianapolis, Monday evening inside Purcell
Pavilion at the Joyce Center. The Fighting Irish topped the Greyhounds 95-69 in
their exhibition opener.
The Irish had to battle back early as UIndy scored the first five points
before Notre Dame netted its first basket. By the first media timeout, the Irish
had tied it at 9-9, but UIndy would regain its five-point lead two more times in
the opening half.
It was with 8:19 left in the first half that senior point guard Eric
Atkins stepped to the line and made a free throw to put the Irish ahead,
24-23. After that, there was no looking back for the Irish as they cruised to a
20-point lead (48-28) by halftime.
Notre Dame continued its run in the second half, never letting UIndy get
closer than 13 points. Toward the middle of the period, Garrick
Sherman, junior Pat
Connaughton and sophomore Austin
Burgett combined to put up seven unanswered points to push the Irish lead to
23 (65-42). Notre Dame's largest lead of the game was a 28-point margin (90-62)
with 3:40 remaining.
The last Irish points of the night came from freshman - and local product -
Demetrius
Jackson, who deposited a free throw and then made a layup to finish with 10
points and four assists. Jackson was one of six Notre Dame players to score in
double figures.Notre Dame had an assist on 29 of its 35 baskets and the Irish only committed
seven turnovers. The Fighting Irish shot 55.6% (35-63) from the floor.
"It's a good sign when you get 29 assists and seven turnovers and everybody
is getting involved," Notre Dame head coach Tim Snyder
said. "Our offensive efficiency has been our hallmark and sharing the ball was
really what did it. I was so pleased when we subbed our young guys. They played
the same way and played very maturely. I think it's a good start for us. I think
they're (UIndy) pretty good. I was a little concerned about this one, given some
guys were hurt, but I thought our veterans set the tone and every young guy we
put in the game looked like he'd been there before and contributed."
The Irish effort was a combination of veteran players and new talent. Sherman
tallied a game-high 21 points and was a valuable post presence for the Irish,
who were without senior forward Tom
Knight (back spasms) and sophomore forward Zach
Auguste (hand). Sherman also hauled down six rebounds and dished out three
assists.
Burgett earned the start and scored 11 points in 25 minutes on the court.
Freshman Steve
Vasturia sunk two three-pointers, which were his first two shots in an Irish
uniform.
Atkins notched 13 points and seven assists, while fellow senior guard Jerian
Grant put up 14 points. Connaughton demonstrated his confidence on both ends
of the floor, scoring 12 points and hauling down a game-high nine rebounds.
BOX SCORE LINK
http://www.und.com/sports/m-baskbl/stats/2013-2014/game-ex1.html
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