No. 22 Notre Dame 80, Stetson 49: Jerian Grant scored 13 of his 15 points during a dominant first half as the host Fighting Irish cruised past the overmatched Hatters.
Garrick Sherman also poured in 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds while Pat Connaughton added 10 points for Notre Dame (2-0), which finished 9-of-17 beyond the arc. The Fighting Irish improved to 119-9 over their last 128 home games.
Brian Pegg led Stetson (0-2) with 13 points and was the only player to finish in double figures for the Hatters, who could not overcome a miserable first half that included 8-for-30 shooting and 10 turnovers. Willie Green tallied eight points and nine rebounds.
Connaughton and Grant combined for three 3-pointers in the opening 5:21 as the Fighting Irish opened the game with a 17-3 surge. Two three-point plays by Pegg sparked a stretch of eight straight points for the Hatters, but another 3-pointer by Grant at the 12:29 mark of the first half triggered a 10-0 run and Notre Dame increased the lead to 30 at intermission.
The Fighting Irish stretched their advantage to as many as 35 on an early second-half layup from Sherman, who scored nine of his points over the final 20 minutes to maintain a comfortable margin.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Notre Dame has won its last 51 games in November and improved to 48-0 at home in the month under coach Mike Brey. … The Fighting Irish are 19-of-38 beyond the arc after two games. … Notre Dame improved to 9-0 all-time against Atlantic Sun opponents.
Stetson | Notre Dame | |
Brian Pegg 13 | Scoring | Jerian Grant 15 |
Raekwon Harney 6 | Assists | Jerian Grant 6 |
William Green 9 | Rebounds | Garrick Sherman 9 |
Brian Pegg 3 | Free Throws Made | Jerian Grant 5 |
Brian Pegg 1 | Steals | Eric Atkins 1 |
William Green 2 | Blocks | Pat Connaughton 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Stetson | 49 | 32.1 | 7-23 | 6-8 | 15 | 24 | 3 | 2 | 13 |
Notre Dame | 80 | 56.1 | 9-17 | 7-11 | 22 | 35 | 4 | 7 | 7 |