Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website

Irish Cap Exhibition Slate With 78-44 Victory

Notre Dame vs. St Norbert Box Score

The University of Notre Dame men’s basketball team completed the exhibition portion of its 2021-22 schedule with a 78-44 victory over St. Norbert in Purcell Pavilion on Friday night. 

The Irish outside shooting and ability to share the ball was the story of the contest, as Notre Dame connected on 16 of 39 three-point field goals (41%) and logged 22 assists on 29 made field goals. 

Graduate student Paul Atkinson Jr. and senior Trey Wertz paced the Irish offense with 15 points each, with all of Wertz points coming off of a five-for-seven performance behind the three-point line. Senior Nate Laszewski led the Irish in rebounding with a game-high 15. 

The contest started with a long uninterrupted string of play, with no whistle stopping the action until there was 12:51 left in the first half. Notre Dame held a 12-8 lead at that point, with five early points from senior Cormac Ryan. 

Wertz and freshman Blake Wesley entered the game at that point and Notre Dame’s secondary transition started to find its shooters behind the three-point line. Wertz keyed a run to push the lead to 32-16 with three consecutive three pointers and combined with senior Prentiss Hubb to start the game six-for-six from three-point range. 

The Irish were nine-for-18 from behind the arc at one point in the first half and took a 39-22 lead into the locker room. 

A quick eight point burst at the 15:00 minute mark of the second half ballooned the lead to 52-28 and Atkinson finished off the Green Knights by scoring nine of his 15 points in the second half. 

The Irish moved their record to 42-0 in exhibition games under Glenn and Stacey Murphy Head Men’s Basketball Coach Mike Brey with the victory. Notre Dame will begin the 2021-22 campaign on Saturday, November 13, against Cal State Northridge at 12 p.m. ET in Purcell Pavilion. The game will be available on ACC Network Extra.