Nov. 2, 2012

Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery

Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Brey

On the performance of Jeremy D’Amico…
“I think the last time I saw a performance like that was Kyle McAlarney against Syracuse. The kid just shot the heck out of the ball tonight. I believe that he made two threes all of last season. Their coach said that they want him shooting the ball this year. I think he played great tonight. They are a great team. That was a great challenge for us. I love the way that we defended in the second half.”

On the game tonight…
“It was one of those grind it out games. I think that tonight’s game was a lot like many of the games that we won in the BIG EAST last year. We had to really grind and grind. Certainly our starting five played well tonight, and I was also very impressed with Cameron Biedscheid being a part of our run. It was a big night for him.”

On his team’s athleticism…
“I would say we do our fair share of playing quick. Especially when we have Eric Atkins, Jerian Grant, and Cameron Biedscheid on the floor together. They can really move up and down the floor. We were able to get some good looks in transition tonight that gave us some breathing room. Cameron Biedscheid was a big part of that. I liked being in a game like that because we are going to be in a lot of BIG EAST games where we are really going to have to grind. We are going to have to be poised even when our shots are not going in.”

On how important tonight’s game was to Cardinal Stritch…
“Their fans were awesome. That is why we play schools like this. It means so much to their program. And certainly tonight’s game was not charity. They are a good team. Their coaches have done a great job with that program.”

On how his team is different from last year’s team…
“I think that everybody is just a little more confident, and that starts with our guards. They are more experienced, and definitely a little more confident. Pat Connaughton has made a big jump. He is a heck of a defender. He did a great job defending tonight. Scott Martin made every big defensive play that he could tonight. Jack Cooley got into foul trouble tonight, but I think that he has come back very confident after what he was able to do last season. Garrick Sherman missed some easy ones tonight, but he is going to be really good for us.”

Notre Dame Players Quotes

Jack Cooley – Senior – Forward

On breaking the game open in the second half…
“We talked about more specifics at halftime. We came out and got six stops to start the second half. We knew we needed to set the tone, and good teams are going to sometimes have slow first halves and that’s just what happened. You have to know how to come out in the second half.”

On what the team learned…
“Just to see that we can turn it around in the second half was nice. We also had 20 bench points, which is actually pretty phenomenal when your team scores 70. That was good to see.”

On being disciplined…
“Coach Brey said they won 30 games last season which is pretty good regardless of whoever they played. It’s a pretty good team and they are all experienced. They know how to play as a team, and it was a good test because they run their plays well. They can punish you if you make mistakes on defense so it was good to play a team like that.”

On being challenged in the preseason…
“You don’t really want to have two big blowouts in the preseason and then go in and play a team for real. We had to learn how to tighten up the game quicker and go from there.”

Cameron Biedscheid – Freshman – Forward

On being more comfortable…
“I was much more comfortable. I was used to the pregame routine and tried to stay focused before the game. When I got out there, I was just trying to be really calm and continue to learn even more. Coach Brey just wants me to learn. He always tells me to learn from everything I do to improve my game in every way.”

On being a key part of the rotation…
“It’s really important. It’s always great when your hard work pays off and you get rewarded with playing time. I think it’s a great opportunity and I’m thankful for it.”

Eric Atkins – Junior – Guard

On the play of Cardinal Stritch…
“They really made us work and they tested how disciplined we were on defense running around with them because they had guys who could really shoot it. They were a really good team, shot the ball well, and we have to work on getting around screens during long possessions. Every possession seemed like it was 25 seconds, so we really had to work on the defensive side of the ball. In the second half we finally got out and ran the floor a little bit.”

On needing a challenge before the season begins…
“I think we definitely needed this. Having to deal with a little adversity after being tied at half and down at one point, that was good for our young guys to learn to fight back.”

Cardinal Stritch Head Coach Drew Diener

On coming to Notre Dame…
“My expectation coming in was that we were really going to have to fight with their size because size is just something that we don’t have. We got bigger in the offseason, but they wore us down eventually with their long arms and their presence inside.”

On competing in the first half…
“Well it’s a great credit to our guys’ mentality that they were here to win the game. They are competitive people and that’s what the key to our program is, on and off the court. They aren’t satisfied with being okay at anything.”

On what Cardinal Stritch can take away from tonight’s game…
“We played a much more physical team tonight, and it was tough to battle those guys but I thought we did that well. Jeremy D’Amico really had a coming out party with his shot, which is key for our team moving forward. This year Jeremy talks more and fulfills more of a leadership role on the court.”