Purcell Pavilion was almost full on Friday night as Notre Dame (2-0) celebrated ‘The Bend’ night with black and gold uniforms.
It was all Notre Dame from start to finish as the Irish rolled 102-70 over Detroit Mercy (0-2).
Notre Dame hit the 100-point mark on a Brady Stevens bucket for the first time in regulation since December 10, 2019, against Detroit Mercy. The Fighting Irish topped the 100-point mark last season, but needed four overtimes to do it.
It was domination from start to finish for the Irish as they tallied 14 threes and out-rebounded the Titans 44-33.
Braeden Shrewsberry led the Irish with 19 points, while the Irish got 13 from Markus Burton, 11 from Carson Towt and 10 points each from Sir Mohammed, Brady Koehler and Ryder Frost.
Mohammed also added six rebounds and six assists. Towt got his first double-double in an Irish uniform as he added 10 boards.
Notre Dame’s bench also came through as they scored 40 points a game after totaling 52.
NO BURTON, NO PROBLEM
Over the last two seasons, Notre Dame’s offense and ability to win came down to Markus Burton scoring and scoring at a high clip. On Friday night, Burton played just eight minutes and scored one point in the first half due to foul trouble.
The Irish didn’t miss a beat by taking a commanding 44-31 lead at halftime. Braeden Shrewsberry led the Irish with 16 first half points by hitting four threes and going 4-of-4 from the foul line.
Notre Dame’s bench also came up big with 19 points in the first 20 minutes. Cole Certa led the charge with six points, while freshman Brady Koehler scored five and classmate Ryder Frost hit a big three.
Perhaps more importantly, Notre Dame’s offense didn’t go stale. There was ball movement, which included multiple players making the extra pass.. Notre Dame finished with nine assists on 14 field goals in the first half, which was more than most games a year ago.
For the game, Notre Dame finished with 19 assists on 36 field goals.
DEFENSE
Notre Dame turned in another good defensive performance on Friday night. Detroit Mercy couldn’t get started early as the Irish held them to a 37.1 percent shooting clip in the first half, which included the Titans going just 4-of-16 from three-point range.
A key to that was limiting the Titans on the offensive boards. Detroit Mercy had just three offensive rebounds in the first half and just eight for the game, which totaled just five second-chance points.
The Irish also limited the Titans to just one player in double figures as TJ Nadeau scored 24 on 9-of-14 from the field.
ONE CONCERN
The Irish can score in the paint as Burton can attack the rim whenever he wants. There is enough athleticism to play in transition to get layups, and the Irish are definitely looking to push the ball more through two games.
There isn’t really a post presence on the block. Kebba Njie is who he is at this point in his career and Carson Towt isn’t a threat to make a move on a defender.
Now, it could look a little different when Haralson returns, as he can take a guard to the block. We’ve seen a touch of that as Haralson has backed guys down from the perimeter to work his way into the lane.
Notre Dame should have enough shooting on the perimeter and enough Burton drives to overcome a consistent post game, but it may catch up to them at times against major conference programs when they really need a bucket.
That said, Towt can pass out of the post as he fished out five assists on the night. Now, some were off rebounds, but if the Irish can at least dump the ball on the block and have Towt find a guy on the perimeter, then it’s growth from last season.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame will return to action on Tuesday by hosting Eastern Illinois at 7:00 PM ET.
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