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Notre Dame Basketball

Notre Dame Hits The Break With 100-74 Win Over Jacksonville

December 20, 2018
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Notre Dame (9-3) caught fire from the three-point line, hitting 18 three-pointers to defeat Jacksonville (7-6) 100-74 in the last game before the holiday break on Thursday at the Purcell Pavilion. 

Five Irish players scored in double-figures in their best offensive game of the season thus far. Dane Goodwin and DJ Harvey led the way with 19 points each. TJ Gibbs (18), John Mooney (16), and Nate Laszewski (12) also scored in double-figures. 

“I’ll take an offensive flow like that as we are searching again for an identity,"  stated Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey. "Hopefully, that’s something to build on. I like how we started big and had 16 points with that starting lineup at the first media timeout."

Notre Dame traded buckets with Jacksonville at the beginning of the second half, but with 13:54 left in the game, Goodwin sparked a big Irish run with a layup in transition. Goodwin extended the Irish lead to 15 points, 69-54, but it turned out to be much more. Notre Dame went onto a 20-2 run over the next five minutes of play to extend their lead to 87-56. 

“He is one gifted basketball player," Brey said of Goodwin. "He plays the game older and see’s it older than a freshman reminiscent of (Steve) Vasturia. He has the feel and the fundamentals. He probably turned down three shots, but he shot a little more tonight and was aggressive.

“He’s a physical kid and he can rebound.” 

Jacksonville was finally able to get a bucket with 8:43 left in the game when David Bell got an easy dunk cutting the middle of the lane. 

The Irish finished the game shooting 60 percent from the field and 56 percent from behind the arch. The difference in Notre Dame’s offense wasn’t just the hot-shooting, but it was the ball movement. They assisted on 24 of their 37 made shots and it was obvious the ball wasn’t sticking. 

We had 20 assists in Indy and we had 23 tonight without the guy who had 10," Brey said. "I feel good about Dane Goodwin being better with the ball. We know Prentiss (Hubb) and TJ (Gibbs) are good with the ball. 

“DJ Harvey has three assists and one turnover. Goodwin was good with the ball. Those guys have to be guards. The bench points weren’t bad either.” 

Jacksonville ended the game shooting just 37 percent from the field and shot 33 percent from the three-point line. The Dolphins did have four players score in double-figures. Jace Hogan led the way with 20 points and JD Notae finished right behind him with 17. Notae hit five of Jacksonville’s three-pointers on the night. Tyreese Davis (14) and Bell (10) were the other two players to score in double-figures. 

With 3:05 left on the clock in the first half, freshman guard Goodwin countered a Jacksonville transition layup by Davis with a three-pointer from the right side of the arch to give the Irish a 46-37 lead. Goodwin’s bucket ended a quick 6-0 run by the Dolphins that cut Notre Dame’s lead to just six, 43-37 with under four minutes to play in the first half. It started a quick 9-0 by Notre Dame. Laszewski hit two consecutive three-pointers on Notre Dame’s next two possessions. 

Notre Dame ended the first half on a 14-6 run to extend their lead to 57-41 going into the half. After Notre Dame’s 12-2 run Jacksonville was able to get two buckets from Davis and Hogan in the last fifty-second of play in the first half. Notre Dame's first half success came in large part to great three-point shooting and unselfish basketball.

The Irish started the game with two quick baskets by Gibbs and Mooney to start the game on 5-0 run. This was just the start for Notre Dame and they were able to keep the lead from the whole twenty minutes in the first half. 

Notre Dame shot 62 percent from the field and 69 percent from the three-point line. Their success came from sharing the basketball. They assisted on 14 of their 21 field goals in the first half. 11 of their 21 field goals came from the three-point line. 

Mooney and Gibbs each led the way for the Irish in the first half. Mooney shot five-for-five from the field with 13 points and three rebounds. Gibbs contributed 10 points and six assists. 

“For a younger group, they can really focus on lock-in," said Brey. "I’ve been very impressed. I figured we would have more space out moments or young moments mentally. Our freshmen class, four of them had a 3.0 GPA. They’re locked in and sharp dudes. 

“The preparation has been great. I told them this game in the NBA before the All-Star Game is called ‘the getaway game.’ Half the teams don’t want to play and are thinking about their trip. Can we be good all day today? We really were. I wasn’t quite sure with younger guys and Christmas. The ability to prepare and focus has been better than I thought. I think it gives us a chance moving forward.” 


Jacksonville shot 47 percent from the field in the first half and hit three of their five three-point attempts. Davis and Hogan led the way for the Dolphins with 12 and 11 points respectively.

Irish Sports Daily
Final Box Score
Irish Sports Daily
Final Notre Dame Stats 

 

 
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