SOUTH BEND, Ind. – After the opening week of play of the 2022-23 season, the (RV) Notre Dame men’s basketball team (2-0) is certainly battle-tested in late-game situations. On Sunday inside Purcell Pavilion, the Fighting Irish made their final six shots from the field to close out Youngstown State (2-1), 88-81.
The Irish used a balanced attack with five players finishing in double figures, led by Dane Goodwin’s 20-point performance. Nate Laszewski recorded his second straight double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Freshman JJ Starling impressed with 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting. In fact, Starling delivered back-to-back clutch three-pointers in the final two minutes of the game.
For the second time of Trey Wertz’s Irish career, he earned back-to-back games with double-digit points (last achieved – Feb. 27-March 3, 2021 – BC and NC State). Then rounding out the double-digit scorers was Cormac Ryan with 13 points – with 10 coming in the second half.
Also important to note – freshman Ven-Allen Lubin almost made it six in double figures with nine points on 4-for-4 shooting.
As a team, the Irish shot 60 percent (33-of-55) from the floor.
How It Happened
Notre Dame came out red hot from the floor, connecting on 14 of its first 19 shots aka 74 percent, to garner a 32-25 advantage. A big reason was their big, Nate Laszewski, who was already in double figures by the 9:35 mark.
Despite the hot start, Youngstown State did its best to keep up, not letting the Notre Dame lead go larger than nine points. Ultimately, the Irish went into the half up 43-36 behind a 17-of-27 shooting effort.
In addition, it was a pretty balanced attack with four players with at least eight points at the midway point – Laszewski 12 points, Starling nine points, Wertz nine points and Goodwin with eight. Furthermore, half of Notre Dame’s points came in the paint, scoring 22 down low.
The Penguins scored the first five of the second half to make it a one-possession game, but Goodwin answered for the Irish, rattling off eight consecutive points behind a pair of three-point plays. Next, freshman Ven-Allen Lubin delivered back-to-back baskets, forcing a YSU timeout, as the Irish found themselves up 55-45 with 14:46 remaining.
Lubin later connected on his first career three-pointer at 11:32 to keep the Penguins at bay at 60-51. A few minutes later at 8:42, Lubin flashed his athleticism down on the defensive end with a monster block after running down a YSU player.
Next, after a short two-minute scoring drought allowed the Penguins to cut the deficit to one point, it was Ryan’s turn to step up, delivering on an and-one for three points.
Fast forward a bit and the Penguins pulled within one point again at 70-69, but the Irish remained calm and responded with a 6-0 run (Wertz, Goodwin and Starling).
A pivotal moment occurred at 2:01, when Wertz drove down the middle and found Starling in the corner for a huge three that gave the Irish a 79-73 lead with 1:54 left. Later at 1:18, Starling delivered from deep again, making it 82-75 with 1:17 remaining.
In the final minute, the Irish broke the full-court pressure, killed the clock and then Wertz polished it off with a driving layup. It also marked Notre Dame’s sixth consecutive made shot to ice the game.
Up Next
Notre Dame continues its home-stretch to start the season with two games in three days starting on Wednesday, Nov. 16. The Irish will host Southern Indiana at 8 p.m. ET, airing live on ACC Network. Then on Friday, Nov. 18, the Irish will welcome Lipscomb for a 7 p.m. tip inside Purcell on ACCNX.
— ND –