SOUTH BEND, Ind. – What a test it was for the (RV) Notre Dame men’s basketball team (1-0) and what a thrill ride it was for the Fighting Irish faithful watching along in the 2022-23 season opener on Thursday night. The Irish battled back down nine against Radford (0-2) in the second half to pull ahead after a Cormac Ryan driving layup with 9.5 seconds on the clock.
Nate Laszewski showed out with a 28-point, 12-rebound, double-double – the 10th of his career. He went 7-for-11 from the field and 12-of-15 from the free-throw line.
Trey Wertz also shone bright, filling in for the injured Marcus Hammond. Wertz notched 18 points, including a 4-for-5 clip from beyond the arc. Ryan then rounded out the Irish in double figures with 10 points.
The Irish shot 52.1 percent on the night and outrebounded Radford 32-29.
How It Happened
It was all Laszweski in the opening minutes as he scored the squad’s first nine points. However, Radford countered with an 8-of-16 start from the field (3-of-6 from deep) to garner a 19-13 lead at the 11:41 media.
Then the Irish offense ignited with a 10-1 run over the next 2.5 minutes as a Wertz three made it 23-20 for the home team. In fact, Notre Dame ultimately made eight straight from the field to garner a 34-27 advantage at the 5:10 mark.
Yet Radford remained hot from deep, using a pair of three-pointers to fire off an 8-0 run to recapture the lead 37-35. The third lead change of the half came via JJ Starling who drained a three with 39 seconds left to push the Irish ahead 40-39, which was the halftime score.
At the midway point, both Laszeski (14 points) and Wertz (10 points) were in double figures. Notre Dame shot 15-of-25 from the field while Radford knocked down 16-of-34. The Irish owned the glass 17-11, but the Highlanders scored a third of their points off six ND turnovers.
It wasn’t an ideal opening in the second half for the Irish, who suffered a short cold spell and started 2-of-10 from the field as Radford tallied a 14-4 run to build its largest lead of the game up 53-44 at 12:38.
A momentum turn came at 9:35 remaining after a Radford flagrant foul. Irish used six straight free thrwos to cut it one possesion. The Highlanders continued to make shots to maintain its lead but thanks to Trey Wertz the Irish kept pace. In fact, Wertz connected on three treys in a row from 8:22-6:51, as the Irish then trailed 64-62 at 6:49 media.
Fast forward to 3:39 and Laszewski hit a big three in the corner to only be down one, 71-70. Next, a pair of Dane Goodwin free throws at 3:21 gave the Irish the lead.
Back-to-back buckets from Radford’s Josiah Jeffers put the Irish down three until Laszewski responded again, driving the lane for the layup.
The Irish went to the free-throw line down two but could only convert one. Yet, Notre Dame delivered on defense, forcing a touch shot. Next, Ryan drove and converted down on the other end, pushing the Irish ahead 77-76 with 9.5 seconds remaining.
One last decisive defensive stand for the Irish and a big defensive board from Laszweski then iced the game.
Up Next
Notre Dame welcomes Youngstown State on Sunday, Nov. 13, with tipoff set for 4 p.m. ET inside Purcell Pavilion.
— ND –