NOTRE DAME, Ind. – John Mooney and Juwan Durham both recorded double-doubles to help lead the Notre Dame Fighting Irish past the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights 91-66 at home Tuesday.
The victory moved Notre Dame’s overall record to 6-1.
Six Notre Dame players finished in double figures in the win, as Nate Laszewski (16), Dane Goodwin (15), Mooney (13), Durham (12), T.J. Gibbs (11) and Rex Pflueger (10) all finished with 10 or more points in the winning effort.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Notre Dame started out the scoring by going on a 13-0 run, culminating in a bucket from Durham, to take an early lead with 15:16 left in the first half. The Fighting Irish never let that lead dip below nine points for the remainder of the first frame, entering halftime with a 42-30 advantage. Notre Dame relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down seven shots to account for 21 of its 42 points.
Notre Dame kept its comfortable lead intact before going on an 8-0 run to blow the game wide open at 60-40 with 11:51 to go in the contest. The Fighting Irish kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 91-66 win. Notre Dame got a boost from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 24 of its 49 total points in the second stanza.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Laszewski led the Irish in scoring with 16 points in just XX minutes of play off the bench in the win. The big man shot 6-of-12 from the field and blocked a career-high three shots. The sophomore also pulled down three rebounds.
STAT OF THE GAME
The Irish shot over 50 percent from the field for the third time this season, finishing 32-for-63 from the floor (50.8). Notre Dame also excelled beyond the arc, knocking down a season-high 12 shots from distance, finishing 12-of-25 from three-point range.
NOTES
- Notre Dame is now 2-0 against Fairleigh Dickinson in program history.
- The Irish remain unbeaten at home, improving to 6-0 inside Purcell Pavilion during the 2019-20 season. Notre Dame has started at least 6-0 at home to open a season four times in the last six seasons.
- Notre Dame knocked down a season-high 12 three-pointers in the win, marking the second time the team has connected on 10 or more shots beyond the arc this season.
- The Knights shot just 37.5 percent from the field against the Irish. Notre Dame has now held four of seven opponents under .400 shooting this season.
- Gibbs dished out five assists in the win, surpassing the 300-assist mark for this career (303). Gibbs becomes the eighth Notre Dame player during the Mike Brey era to record at least 1,000 points, 300 assists, 200 rebounds and 100 steals in his career.
- Gibbs became the 21st player in program history to join the 300-assist club.
- Mooney posted his fourth double-double of the season in just six outings and the 25th double-double of his career (13 pts, 13 reb).
- Durham tallied his second double-double of the year and eighth of his career (12 pts, 11 reb).
- Pflueger finished in double figures for the third time this season and 22nd time in his career with 10 points.
- Laszewski recorded his third game of the season with 10 or more points on Tuesday, scoring 16 points.
- Durham matched his season high for blocks with four in the victory.
- Goodwin recorded double-digit points for the fifth time this season and 13th time in his career.
- Gibbs scored 10 or more points for the sixth time this season and 62nd time in his career.
UP NEXT
The Fighting Irish hit the road for a tough matchup against No. 5/8 Maryland for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge at 7:15/7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Dec. 4. The game will air live on either ESPN or ESPN2 and will also be available to stream via the WatchESPN app (subscription required).