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Notre Dame Basketball

Irish End Exhibition Season With 76-54 Win

November 1, 2018
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The exhibition season is officially over as Notre Dame beat Central State 76-54 at Purcell Pavilion on Thursday night. Junior guard TJ Gibbs led the Irish with 17 points, two rebounds and two assists on the night.

Notre Dame started slowly by taking a 15-7 lead after eight minutes, but Gibbs wasn’t worried. 

“We had a slow start which happens sometimes,” Gibbs said following the win. “The first time jitters happens to everyone including myself and Rex (Pflueger). The new guys did a good job of bouncing back. We have a lot to work with, so we have to keep building one step at a time.” 

Gibbs wasn’t the only standout for the Irish on the night as junior forward John Mooney scored 11 points and pulled down five boards in just 14 minutes of action. 

“He’s a dog,” Gibbs said of Mooney. “I’ve known that since I came here day one. I knew he was a dog since his visit. It’s starting to show, and I love it. It’s encouraging to see, and I can’t ask for anything better than this guy.”

The slow start was a concern for Brey, but the Irish ended the first half on a 14-2 run, and head coach Mike Brey was able to exhale a little bit as his team led 42-26 at the half. 

“We were really running guys through to get them in there. I’m not sure that will be the case on Tuesday night. The end of the half, we found a little bit of a rhythm. I don’t know who we start. We started a different lineup. I’m not sure who we start on Tuesday, and it will be a discussion over the next few days.”

Despite the slow start, Notre Dame was able to shoot 44% from the field and controlled the boards 34-24. The Irish will need to improve from three-point range (28%) and the foul line (63%) moving forward.

"We’re going to have to make some shots or get our big guys rolling off the ball screen," explained Brey. "We do have some drivers and we can drive it more after some movement. We can get to the bonus and make free throw.s We didn’t shoot free throws as well as I would have liked and some guys who are good free throw shooters missed some tonight.” 

Brey used various lineups on Thursday, but that was the point of the final exhibition of the season. The fact he doesn’t know his starting lineup might be a concern, but it’s safe to say Mooney will join TJ Gibbs and Rex Pflueger in the starting five on Tuesday. 

“He’s been really good for us,” stated Brey. “He rebounds the ball, and he’s active and around the bucket. He keeps it simple for us. It’s kind of hard to keep him out of there right now.”

The Irish pulled away in the second half by allowing the Marauders to shoot just 30% from the floor and held them scoreless for over four minutes twice in the half. 

Freshman Dane Goodwin finished his first game in Purcell Pavilion with 10 points, three boards, and two assists, including starting 4-for-4 from the field. 

“I thought Dane was the most comfortable,” Brey said. “Dane has a presence and knows how to play.”

Notre Dame will now turn it’s attention to the 2018-19 season as Illinois-Chicago comes to South Bend on Tuesday night for a 7:00 p.m. ET tip. 
 
Gibbs knows building chemistry will be critical to the success of the Irish and he’s looking forward to the next few days.

“We’ll be a tough team to stop if we do that and we're seeing what we can really do.” 

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