NOTRE DAME – Notre Dame (9-3) played its best game of the year on the offensive end of the floor on the way to a 100-74 route of Jacksonville (7-6) inside Purcell Pavilion. The Irish knocked down 18 shots from three-point range, the fourth most in a game in program history.
Four Irish players finished with more than 15 points in the victory. D.J. Harvey and Dane Goodwin each poured in 19 and T.J. Gibbs was one point behind with 18. John Mooney continued his impressive run of play with a 16-point effort on 6-of-6 shooting.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish came out of the gates firing on the offensive end, as Notre Dame buried 11 of its first 14 attempts from the field on Thursday evening to jump out to a 26-17 advantage with just over 12 minutes left in the first half. The visitors managed to cut the lead to six at 43-37 with three minutes to go but Notre Dame responded by knocking down three straight threes and took a 57-43 lead into the break.
The Notre Dame lead was never in doubt in the second stanza, as the Irish continued their hot shooting from distance. The lead got as high as 31 points at 87-56 with 8:55 left in regulation. Notre Dame went on to win by a final score of 100-74.
NOTRE DAME PLAYER OF THE GAME
Goodwin played the best game of his young Irish career, scoring a career-high 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting. The freshman knocked down two shots from distance and also added five rebounds and three assists.
NOTRE DAME STAT OF THE GAME
The Irish not only had its best shooting performance from beyond the arc of the season but also one of the most impressive displays in program history. Notre Dame finished 18-for-32 from behind the arc with Nate Laszewski (4-of-6), Gibbs (4-of-7) and Harvey (4-of-5) each hitting at least four. In total, seven different Notre Dame players hit a three on Thursday evening.
NOTES OF THE GAME
- The Irish are 1-0 against the Dolphins in the series and have now played four teams this season for the first time in program history. Notre Dame has gone 2-2 in such games.
- Notre Dame scored 57 points in the first half, marking the most the team has recorded in any half this season.
- The Irish posted a season-high 24 assists as a team in the win.
- The Irish shot 11-of-16 from three-point range in the first half, recording the best three-point shooting half of the season.
- For the ninth time this season and 17th time in his career, Mooney finished in double figures in the points column.
- Goodwin scored a career-high 19 points, marking the third time the freshman has hit double-digit points in a game this year.
- Durham blocked five shots and has now notched three or more blocks in seven games this season. The junior leads the Irish with 33 blocks on the season. Durham’s five block performance gives the junior three games this season of five or more blocks.
- For the 10th time this season and 44th time in his career, Gibbs finished in double figures with 18 points.
- With 19 points Harvey finished in double figures for the eighth time this season and 12th time in his career. The 19 points tie the sophomore for the most points in a game in his career.
- Laszewski scored 12 points, notching his career high for points in a game and finishing in double figures four times this season.
- Prentiss Hubb led the team and tied his career high in assists with seven against the Dolphins.
- Juwan Durham earned the first start of his Notre Dame career.
UP NEXT
The Irish will enjoy a week off for Christmas break before returning to Purcell Pavilion to wrap up the non-conference portion of the schedule against Coppin State at noon ET on Saturday, Dec. 29. The game will air on ACC Network Extra via the WatchESPN app.
To purchase tickets Notre Dame men’s basketball tickets visit UND.com/BuyTickets.
— ND —