Jan. 17, 2012

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2011-12 Notre Dame Men’s Basketball
Rutgers 65, Notre Dame 58
January 16, 2012
Louis Brown Athletic Center o Piscataway, N.J.

Post-Game Notes

– Tonight was the 30th meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Rutgers. The Fighting Irish lead the series 17-13.
Eric Atkins (So./G), Joey Brooks (Jr./G), Jack Cooley (Jr./F), Jerian Grant (So./G) and Scott Martin (Sr./G) started tonight’s contest. It was the fourth time this season that quintet has started, but the first time since the Gonzaga game on Nov. 30. The Irish are 2-2 with that starting five. Grant and Martin both have a team-high 18 starts this season (out of 19 games played).
– Notre Dame shot a season-low 38.5% (5-13) from the free throw line … the previous low was 50.0% (10-20) against Sam Houston State (Nov. 16) … the five made free throws matched a season-low total for the Irish.
– The Fighting Irish trailed 39-31 at halftime. The Irish are 3-7 this season when trailing at the intermission.
– Notre Dame is 10-1 at home, 1-3 in true road games and 0-4 in neutral site contests this season.
– A Scott Martin three-pointer early in the first half upped Notre Dame’s streak of consecutive games with a made three-pointer to 427.

Eric Atkins (So./G)
– Netted a game-high 15 points … it marked the 12th time this season that he’s scored in double-figures (out of 19 games played)
– Has led the Irish in scoring a team-best seven times this season
– Played 40-plus minutes for the eighth time this season … has played 40 or more minutes in five of six BIG EAST games this season

Jack Cooley (Jr./F)
– Shot 4-5 from the field and finished with nine points and nine rebounds

Scott Martin (Sr./G)
– Scored in double-figures (11 points) for the fourth straight game and for the ninth time this season … the four-game double-figure scoring streak is a season-high total
– Shot a season-best 55.6% (5-9) from the field