NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Five Fighting Irish put up double-digit points and Notre Dame beat the Alabama A&M Bulldogs 82-56 at home Sunday.
The win improved Notre Dame’s overall record to 9-4.
The Fighting Irish had five players score in double figures, led by T.J. Gibbs, who had 17 points. John Mooney tacked on a double-double with 16 points and 18 rebounds and Dane Goodwin helped out with 12 points off of the bench.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After jumping out to a 14-7 advantage, Notre Dame went on a 6-0 run with 10:02 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Mooney, to increase its lead to 20-7. The Fighting Irish then added five points to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 36-18 advantage. Notre Dame did most of its first half damage in the paint, scoring 22 of its 36 points close to the basket.
Following intermission, Notre Dame kept widening that lead, expanding it to 68-47 before going on a 9-0 run, finished off by Rex Pflueger’s jumper, to grow the lead to 77-47 with 5:29 to go in the contest. The Bulldogs narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Fighting Irish still cruised the rest of the way for the 82-56 win. Notre Dame shot well from three-point range in the half, hitting 10 shots from deep to score 30 of its 46 points.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Mooney was a monster on the glass in the win, tying his season high for rebounds with 18. The senior also poured in 16 points on an efficient 7-of-11 shooting to notch his 10th double-double of the season. The forward blocked a season-high three shots to complete his impressive performance.
STAT OF THE GAME
Notre Dame dominated underneath on the defensive end, recording a season-high 10 blocks as a team. Half of the rejections came from Durham, who swatted five shots on the day.
NOTES
- The Irish are now 1-0 against Alabama A&M in the series, as Sunday’s matchup was the first ever game between the two sides.
- Alabama A&M shot just 23-of-76 (30.3 percent) from the field. The Irish have now held six teams to under 40 percent from the field this season.
- Notre Dame recorded just nine turnovers on Sunday. The Irish have had less than 10 turnovers in six games this season.
- Mooney recorded his 10th double-double in just 12 games that he has played in this season, posting 16 points and 18 rebounds.
- Durham finished in double figures in the scoring column for the sixth time this season and 11th time in his career.
- Goodwin’s double-digit scoring performance was his ninth game of the season with 10 or more points and 17th of his career.
- Gibbs scored 10 or more points for the 10th time this season and 66th time in his career.
- Hubb finished in double figures in the scoring column for the sixth time this season and 17th time in his career.
- Durham finished with five blocks, tying his season high. The center now has 99 blocks in his career, moving into ninth place on Notre Dame’s all-time career blocks list.
UP NEXT
The Fighting Irish will play its third ACC game of the season at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jan. 4, as Notre Dame takes on Syracuse on the road. The game will air on either ESPN2 or ESPNU and will also be available to stream via the WatchESPN app (subscription required).