SOUTH BEND, Ind. - It was a dominant showing start to finish for Notre Dame men’s basketball Thursday night in its home opener vs. Mercyhurst. The Fighting Irish (2-0) led the entire way, jumping out to a 25-7 start and never looking back, defeating the Lakers (0-2), 83-56.
“We talked before the game, at halftime, and again after the game, what our standard is and what we are pushing toward every single day. At times we were there. Now we got to get it where we are more consistent. Just proud of these guys for how they played and how they responded,” Glenn & Stacey Murphy Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry said.
The Irish shot over 50 percent from the field each half, finishing 28-of-52 (.538) in the game. They drained 15 three pointers (15-of-32, 46.9 percent) for the first time since Jan. 14, 2023. The Blue & Gold also outrebounded Mercyhurst 32-22, which included limiting them to zero first half offensive rebounds.
Ethan Roberts led in scoring tonight with 18 points, missing just one shot from the field (6-of-7 overall, 3-of-4 from three).
Braeden Shrewsberry poured in 12 of his 17 points in the second half. A half in which he went 4-for-5 from three-point range. He finished with five made triples in the game.
Brady Koehler also posted 17 points tonight, tying his career high. The sophomore also only missed one shot from the field, and went a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc, as the later marked a career best
Braeden Smith tied his career high of 10 assists to go along with his five points. In fact, Smith assisted on four of the team’s first seven made baskets.