SOUTH BEND, Ind. – In the final preseason exhibition ahead of the 2025-26 season, the Notre Dame men’s basketball team hosted an old Big East foe in DePaul. The Fighting Irish didn’t get the start they were looking for, falling into a 13-point deficit, but they charged back to momentarily take a second-half lead and make it a one-possession game with under a minute. Yet, the Blue Demons were able to surge ahead for the 69-62 win.
It would have been a career-high night for sophomore guard Sir Mohammed. The Charlotte native dropped a team-best 15 points on 5-12 shooting. He also grabbed six rebounds, which would have tied his career best.
Another Irish standout tonight was guard Logan Imes. The junior recorded eight points on 3-3 shooting, which included two triples. Freshman Jalen Haralson supplied eight points on 4-9 shooting to go with his five boards. Junior guard Markus Burton joined Mohammed in double figures with 10 points, going 8-8 from the free-throw line.
How It Happened
The Irish had to overcome a cold shooting start, converting just 4-of-24 from the field over the first 10 minutes. Couple that with the fact that DePaul converted four triples in that same timespan, forcing Notre Dame into an 8-21 deficit.
However, the Irish began to settle, partially due to the play of Sir Mohammed, who led the squad in the first half with eight points on 3-of-6 shooting. Overall, Notre Dame converted five of its next eight from the field and knocked down 10-of-13 from the free throw line.
As a result, Notre Dame pulled within six at the half, trailing 30-36. Another big reason for the late first-half charge – rebounding. The Irish outrebounded the Blue Demons 24-17 and 11-2 in the offensive boards category.
Notre Dame brought the energy out of the halftime locker room and onto the floor with some inspired play. Haralson scored on back-to-back drives, one of which was kick-started by Logan Imes diving on the ground for a loose ball. Then a Garrett Sundra three gave the Irish a 37-36 lead.
At 15:35, Braeden Shrewsberry connected on a three to tie the game at 40-all. Yet, DePaul gained some traction offensively, finding holes in the Notre Dame defense to rattle off 5-of-6 from the floor to go up 49-44 at the 11:33 media timeout.
Soon after, the Blue Demons pushed the lead to eight, but Mohammed rattled off the next five points for the Irish. Then, an Imes three-ball prompted a DePaul timeout with their lead cut to two at 56-58.
Burton evened the slate after cashing in on a pair of free throws, but a 7-2 Blue Demons run would extend their lead to 65-60. Another pair of Burton free throws cut the deficit to three with 18 seconds remaining, but four straight DePaul free throws would finalize the 69-62 road win.
Up Next
No more preseason tune-ups or exhibitions. The next time the Fighting Irish lace them up in Purcell Pavilion, it will be to kick off the season on November 3 against LIU Brooklyn. That match will tip off at 7 p.m. ET and stream live on ACCNX.
– ND –