SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The 2023-24 version of the Notre Dame men’s basketball team had its final preseason tune-up on Wednesday night, giving Irish fans their first glimpse of the new team under Glenn & Stacey Murphy Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry. With that said, Irish fans were treated to a dominant 96-62 win over D-III opponent Hanover College.
“I wanted to see our guys play hard and compete, just like in practice,” Coach Shrewsberry said. “I wanted people to come here and see us compete like that and play like that and know it’s going to be like that every single game. We might not come out on top, but we are going to compete every single game. I thought those guys poured their hearts out. I said empty your tank and let the next guy come in and do the same thing.”
What’s exciting about the Shrewsberry era is that three freshmen balled out tonight in their debut. Mr. Indiana Basketball, Markus Burton, led the way with 18 points. Then fellow freshmen Braeden Shrewsberry and Logan Imes followed suit with 14 points.
Other double-digit point scorers included J.R. Konieczny and Matt Zona with 12 points each.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish had a scoring run to remember in the first half. Notre Dame recorded a 24-0 scoring spree which spanned from 13:06 to 7:46. Markus Burton tallied exactly of the team’s points in said run with 12.
Another first-half highlight was Braeden Shrewsberry knocking down three triples in less than a two-minute span.
All-in-all, both Burton and Shrewsberry finished the half with 14 points each, Burton was 5-of-7 from the field while Shrewsberry was lighting it up beyond the arc with a 4-for-6 mark. Another freshman, Logan Imes, produced the third-highest halftime total with eight points on 3-for-3 shooting.
As a whole, the Irish connected on 14 of their final 18 shots of the half and ultimately shot 59.4 percent from the field. Notre Dame was 7-of-12 (.583) from three-point range. Also, how about this stat, just three turnovers, as they took a 55-27 lead into the half.
Imes got his double-digit points early in the second half though, knocking down back-to-back triples around the 16-minute mark.
The Irish went on to shoot over 50 percent in the second half as well. J.R. Konieczny led the way in the second with 10 points, followed by Matt Zona with eight. The final result, an Irish victory via the score 96-62.
UP NEXT
The Fighting Irish will officially open their season on Monday, Nov. 6, when they host Niagara at 7 p.m. ET inside Purcell Pavilion. The first 3,000 fans will receive a free green ‘Shrews Crew’ rally towel. Be there from the start and help us kick off the Shrewsberry era.
— ND –