NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame (5-1) turned in its most complete performance of the young season on Saturday afternoon, cruising to a 95-70 victory over DePaul (3-1). The Irish used a monster-second half to run away with the win, outscoring the Blue Demons 56-34 over the final 20 minutes of play.
Senior Rex Pflueger played the best game of his career on the offensive end, scoring a career-high 20 points to lead the Irish in scoring. Junior T.J. Gibbs matched his season-high in points with 18 while the freshmen duo of Prentiss Hubb and Nate Laszewski each recorded 15 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The opening 20 minutes were tightly contested, as neither team was able to take complete control of the game. Trailing 24-19 midway through the first half, the Irish used a 9-0 run over the next four minutes to go on top 28-24 with six minutes remaining in the first frame. Notre Dame did not trail for the rest of the half, taking a 39-36 advantage into the halftime break. Laszewski was the catalyst for the offense, coming off the bench to score 11 points to lead the Irish at the intermission.
The Irish carried its momentum from the first half into the second, outscoring the visitors 10-3 in the first few minutes of the second stanza to take its first double-digit lead of the game at 49-39. Notre Dame’s offensive onslaught continued, scoring a total of 32 points in the first 10 minutes of the half to open its largest lead of the day at 71-46. The Irish went on to comfortably win by a final score of 95-70.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Pflueger notched the first 20-plus point game of his career against DePaul, scoring a career-high XX points. The senior was remarkably efficient, going XX-of-XX from the floor, and a perfect 4-of-4 from both the three-point line and free-throw line. The four makes from beyond the arc tie a career high for the senior. Pflueger also grabbed five rebounds and dished out three assists in the win.
NOTRE DAME STAT OF THE GAME
The Irish had by far their best performance on the offensive end of the season, scoring a season-high 95 points. The Irish shot a season high 55.0 percent (33-of-60) from the floor and 48.1 percent (13-of-27) from the three-point line.
NOTES OF THE GAME
- Notre Dame extends its win streak over DePaul to 11 games and improves to 62-44 over the Blue Demons in the all-time series and 38-13 when playing at home.
- Notre Dame’s bench outscored DePaul’s 34-13 in the victory.
- The Irish dished out 15 assists on 22 makes from the field.
- Pflueger registered a career-high 20 points and has now scored 10 or more points on 18 occasions in his career.
- Gibbs scored 18 points and has now recorded 10-plus points five times this season and 39 times in his career.
- With 15 points, Laszewski notched his career high for points in a game and has finished in double figures three times this season.
- Hubb scored a career-high 15 points, recording his third straight game with 10-plus points.
- Junior John Mooney led the Irish with 11 rebounds, marking the fourth straight game he has pulled down double-digit boards.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame wraps up its seven-game home stand to open the season at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 27 against Illinois in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The game will air live on ESPN.
To purchase tickets visit UND.com/BuyTickets.
— ND —