CHICAGO - It was one last tune-up Friday night at Wintrust Arena for Notre Dame men’s basketball before it all becomes official in Rome. The Fighting Irish bussed up to DePaul, secured the 71-63 exhibition victory against its old Big East rival, then bussed back all in the same day.
Brady Koehler and Braeden Smith came up big for the Blue & Gold, combining for 36 points on a combined 12-for-24 shooting. Koehler also led the team in assists with five.
It was the big three-point shooting night for the Irish, as Koehler, Smith, Ethan Roberts and Jonathan Sanderson each drained three triples. ND finished the night 12-for-30 from deep. Sanderson also finished in double digits with 13 points while Roberts followed right behind with nine.
Notre Dame, who trailed by one at the half, utilized great defense down the stretch to ice the game. The Irish limited the Blue Demons to 35.7% shooting in the second half and just seven free throw attempts.
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a balanced back-and-forth start in Wintrust with the game tied at 8-all at the first media timeout. Notre Dame started 3-for-5 with three-point buckets from Brady Koehler and Braeden Smith.
Smith came out of the huddle and maintained the hot hand, instantly draining two more triples. Moments later, Ethan Roberts connected from deep resulting in a 5-for-7 Notre Dame start from three-point range. Both teams were 6-of-12 from the floor at the 11:44 mark, tied at 17-all.
Next, Jonathan Sanderson subbed in and contributed right away by draining two triples of his own. With 7:12 remaining, ND was up 25-23 behind a 7-for-12 start from three.
It was a collective team scoring effort from the seven-minute mark to the under-four media, as Tommy Ahneman, Brady Koehler, Braeden Smith and Gan Erdene-Solongo all recorded baskets to keep the Irish ahead at 35-31.
Next, over a 3:22 stretch, Notre Dame’s defense forced five DePaul turnovers to keep them at bay, but on the offensive end, the Irish suffered a four-plus minute scoring drought, and as a result, went into halftime down 36-35.
Notre Dame shot 13-of-33 in the first half, 7-of-18 from three, compared to DePaul’s 14-of-27 from the floor, and 4-of-11 from deep. The Irish gathered 10 offensive boards in which they converted into 16 second-chance points. Smith and Koehler combined for 20 points at the break on a combined 7-for-12 shooting.
Ethan Roberts lit a spark in the offense with back-to-back threes around the 17:30 mark. Brady Koehler followed that up with a triple of his own, then connected again from deep 90 seconds later to make it 49-44, Irish.
Sanderson drilled an important three at 11:17, which was followed by a pair of Smith free throws, making it 56-50 with 10 minutes left.
A pivotal 6-0 run spanning 90 seconds gave the Irish a 65-56 lead with 4:31 remaining. Imes, Ahneman and Sanderson all scored while Devin Brown reeled in a pair of big rebounds.
Ahneman made his presence known out of the DePaul timeout, immediately scoring on the offensive end, then recording a block down on the defensive end a couple of possessions later.
Up next, the Irish recorded another solid defensive stretch as Smith tallied the steal and the breakaway score. A pair of Sanderson free throws brought the game to its 71-63 final.
Notre Dame shot 40.3 percent overall in the game and tied DePaul on the boards 34-all. The Irish defense forced 17 Blue Demon turnovers and netted 20 points from it. ND also totaled 28 second-chance points.
UP NEXT
No more scrimmages, no more exhibitions. The Fighting Irish have the privilege of kicking off the entire NCAA basketball season in Rome as part of the Eternal City Tipoff. Notre Dame will clash with Villanova on Sunday, November 1, at 9:30 a.m. ET on Fox.
– ND –