Goodwin’s Three Pointer Pushes Irish Past Lipscomb

The University of Notre Dame men’s basketball team improved to 4-0 in 2022-23 with a 66-65 victory over Lipscomb (2-2) on Friday night in the Joyce Center. Leading for most of the game, the Irish saw the Bison shoot over 75 percent in the second half to take a brief two-point lead before Dane Goodwin’s top-of-the-key three pointer with 0:14 left earned the home team a hard-fought victory. 

Goodwin led all scorers with 24 points, shooting six-of-eight from three-point range. Nate Laszewski scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half while posting a game-high nine rebounds. Freshman guard J.J. Starling was the other Irish player in double figures with 11 points. 

Trae Benham and Jacob Ognacevic led Lipscomb with 19 points each. 

How It Happened

Lipscomb earned a quick 10-5 lead in the game by connecting on five of its first eight shots, but Notre Dame responded to hold the Bison scoreless over a three-minute stretch while the Irish offense started to find its way. 

Three straight Notre Dame three pointers from Cormac Ryan, Dane Goodwin and Trey Wertz earned the Irish a 15-14 lead with 10 minutes remaining in the first half.

The two teams traded a couple field goals back and forth until the Irish defense stepped up again to hold Lipscomb scoreless over a five-minute stretch. Another Wertz three pointer and two turn around jump shots from J.J. Starling and Goodwin, respectively, pushed the Irish advantage to 26-18 with five minutes left. 

The run continued as the Bison struggled from the field. After their hot start (five-for-eight), Lipscomb went cold to post a 2-for-12 shooting drought as the Irish built an 11-point lead.  

A mini-Bison five-point run cut the Irish lead to six points at the break. Goodwin led all scorers at the half with 15 points on six-of-eight shooting with three three-point field goals. 

Three straight Cormac Ryan defensive plays allowed the Irish to build a 10-point lead with 12:30 remaining. Ryan earned a steal on a jump ball, helped in the post to get a steal and also created a steal in a Lipscomb transition opportunity. The three plays set up a Goodwin three pointer, his fourth of the game, to provide the double-digit lead. 

Lipscomb wasn’t done yet and put together another run, cutting into the lead with three straight buckets in the paint. The 10-point lead became just four with 10:54 remaining. 

Notre Dame had an answer. Back-to-back three pointers from Nate Laszewski off an in-bound play and Goodwin’s fifth off a great drive and kick from Wertz pushed the lead back up to 10. 

The Bison came back yet again with a 12-2 run, hitting six consecutive shots to earn a two-point lead (63-61) on a four-point play by Trae Benham with 2:11 remaining. 

Ryan answered with a pull up jumper for Notre Dame to tie it. Lipscomb’s Derrin Boyd pushed his team back up two with 1:30 left with a short jumper. 

Wertz drove attempting to tie the game, but missed off the front rim. Lipscomb went back to Benham, but this time Ryan forced him into a touch turn-around jump shot that was rebounded by Laszewski. 

The Irish did not call a timeout as the clock ticked under 30 seconds. After a single offensive rotation, Ryan drove, found Goodwin at the top of the key and the graduate student calmly nailed his sixth three pointer of the game for the game-winning points. 

Up Next

The Irish return to competition in the 2022 Gotham Classic, playing host to Bowling Green on Tuesday, November 18, at 6:30 p.m. ET on the ACC Network.