Nov. 1, 2002

Notre Dame, Ind. – Senior Dan Miller scored 21 points to lead six Notre Dame players in double figures as the Irish rolled to a 107-77 victory over Illinois All-Stars in an exhibition game before 11, 332 fans at the Joyce Center on Friday night. All five starters scored in double figures for the Irish.

Miller, who sat out all of the 2001-02 campaign after transferring to Notre Dame in the summer of 2001 after three seasons at the University of Maryland, also grabbed eight rebounds and dished off four assists in 26 minutes of action, Miller nailed eight-of-16 shots from the field and was four-of-eight from three-point range.

Freshman forward Torin Francis started the game and played 27 minutes. He finished with 14 points and a game-high 16 rebounds, which included 12 in the first half. Chris Thomas, the 2002 National Freshman of theYear, tallied 17 points, dished off eight assists and had four rebounds and four steals in 25 minutes of action.

Senior tri-captain Matt Carroll had 14 points and six rebounds, while freshman point guard Chris Quinn came off the bench and scored 10 points. Sophomore forward Jordan Cornette played 26 minutes off the bench and finished with six points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four blocked shots.

Notre Dame held a three-point lead (38-35) with 4:34 remaining in the first half, but pulled away with a 20-7 to take a 58-39 lead into halftime. The Irish built a nine-point lead on two occasions in the first 20 minutes, but could never put the visitors away until the final five minutes of the first half.

Notre Dame increased its halftime advantage steadily in the second half and led by as many as 33 with 9:30 remaining in the contest.

The Irish shot 46.2 percent from the field and committed just nine turnovers while dishing off 26 assists. In addition, Notre Dame had eight blocked shots and nine steals in the game. The Irish also owned a 62-42 rebounding advantage.

Notre Dame will play its next exhibition game on Monday, November 11 against the EA Midwest All-Stars. Tipoff will be at 7:30 p.m. at the Joyce Center. The Irish open up the regular season against Belmont on Sunday, November 17 in the first round of the Guardians Classic.