SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Notre Dame men’s basketball team took last week’s tough road losses and shook it off, delighting the home crowd to an 86-65 victory over Western Michigan on Tuesday night. The Fighting Irish (4-4) leveled their overall record and improved to 3-1 inside Purcell Pavilion this season. They did it behind four players who finished in double figures, including three who achieved career highs.
Forward Tae Davis continued his hot stretch with his third straight game in double figures and second consecutive double-double with a career high 19 points and 10 rebounds. Davis was an efficient 8-for-11 from the field.
Julian Roper II also had an efficient night, going 6-for-8, to secure a career best 14 points. He also reeled in six rebounds.
Braeden Shrewsberry was the next player with a career high, pouring in 16 points. He lit it up from distance, going 4-for-6 from three-point range.
Then there was Markus Burton who finished with 17 points on 5-for-6 shooting, to go along with his season-high tying six assists. J.R. Konieczny almost made it five Irish in double figures with nine points, with a 7-for-7 performance from the free-throw line.
All-in-all, the Irish shot a season best 59.2 percent from the field with a 9-for-22 (.409) mark from three-point range. They scored a season high in points while holding its opponent to 65 or fewer points for the second straight contest.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Notre Dame came out hot from the field, making six of its first eight attempts, including a 3-for-4 start from three-point range. They ultimately tallied an early 12-2 run which forced a Western Michigan timeout with the Irish up 17-10.
The Broncos would make it a one-possession game after firing off four straight points, but the Irish responded with yet another impressive run – a 15-3 scoring spree. Six different Irish players scored during this stretch, which was capped off by an impressive Davis dunk to push the ND lead to its largest of the half at 32-17.
Yet, the pesky Broncos would not go away, chipping away to cut it back to one possession yet again at 37-34. Roper II gave the Irish a boost before the half with a buzzer-beating three to make it 40-34 at the break.
The Irish shot 58.3 percent in the half compared to WMU’s 41.9 percent, but the Broncos attempted seven more shots after forcing seven Irish turnovers and garnering five offensive boards. Davis (10 points) and Shrewsberry (11 points) led the first half offensive charge.
That Roper II momentum with the buzzer-beater was indeed sustained for the start of the second half as he, along with Burton and Davis, powered a 15-4 start to push the Irish lead to 55-38 at the 14:19 media timeout.
Western Michigan did take advantage of a mini Notre Dame field goal drought to cut it to single digits at 62-53 with 7:50 remaining. The Notre Dame response came two minutes later when Shrewsberry hit his fourth three-pointer of the night followed by a steal and breakaway dunk by Roper II – now 71-55 Irish with 5:18 left.
The Irish then put on cruise control to the 86-65 final, with Burton scoring six of his points in the final two minutes.
UP NEXT
Another big road test and opportunity for the Irish this weekend. Notre Dame will travel to Milwaukee to clash with No. 8/7 Marquette on Saturday, Dec. 9, inside the Fiserv Forum. Tip will be at 9 p.m. ET on FOX.
— ND –