Mark Allen
Irish Blue And Gold (www.irishblueandgold.com)
ND Men’s Basketball
Russell Carter scored 20 points and Luke Harangody 18 as Notre Dame won handily over Lafayette College, 92-60 on Tuesday night. The game was the consolation game in the Indianapolis Region of the preseason NIT. The Irish bounced back from Monday night’s loss to Butler.
Notre Dame coach Mike Brey had the Irish practicing in a full scrimmage earlier in the day, before the Lafayette game. The ploy seemed to pay off as the Irish came out smoking and never let up in the dominating win.
Two stats stand out as far as the dominance. Notre Dame’s goal coming in was to use a height advantage and go inside. They succeeded on a grand scale. The Irish out scored the Leopards, 44-16 on points in the paint. They also turned Lafayatte turnovers into points, outscoring them, 31-5, in that category.
Russell Carter started out the game on fire. He hit for 3 three-pointers in the first ten minutes. Notre Dame raced to a 25-14 lead. They led at the half, 46-30.
The Irish big men came to play on this night. Rob Kurz scored 16 points and rebounded the ball very well. Once again, Irish star-in-the-making, Luke Harangody was “Mr Energy”. The freshman scored 18 and was dominant under the basket with his jump hook.
Also in double figures was freshman Tory Jackson. Jackson had 10 points. He was 4-of-11 from the free throw line. There is no need to panic, though. Once he gets into more games and learns to bend his knees during the shots, his percentage will rise dramatically.
Notre Dame put the Butler loss behind them in one night. Lafayette is a better team than IPFW. a team the Irish blew out in their season opener.
The Irish are next in action on Sunday when they take on The Citadel.
Box Score
Lafayette (1-2)
Schmidt 0-2 5-6 5, Betley 4-7 1-1 10, Abdullah 2-5 0-0 8, Hilliard 0-3 2-2 2, Brown 3-7 0-1 8, Detmer 2-3 4-4 9, Hines 3-5 2-3 8, Harley 1-4 0-0 3, Cummins 0-1 0-0 0, Andersson 1-2 0-0 3, Kenny 1-1 0-0 2, Koltun 0-0 2-4 2, Gruner 1-1 1-1 3, Totals 18-43 17-22 60
Notre Dame (2-1)
Kurz 7-10 0-0 16, Zeller 4-6 0-0 8, Falls 3-7 0-0 8, Carter 8-12 1-1 20, McAlarney 1-3 0-0 3, Harangody 7-12 4-5 18, Jackson 3-4 4-11 10, Ayers 0-4 1-2 1, Hillesland 2-2 1-2 5, Harden 0-0 0-0 0, Peoples 0-0 3-4 3, Totals 35-60 14-25 92
Half: Notre Dame 46, Lafayette 30. Shooting: Notre Dame: 35-60 (58.3 percent), Lafayette: 18-43 (41.9 percent). 3-point shooting: Notre Dame: 8-17 (47.1 percent; Falls 2-5, Kurz 2-2, Carter 3-5, McAlarney 1-3, Ayers 0-2, Lafayette: 6-18 (33.3 percent; Brown 2-4, Betley 1-3, Abdullah 1-3, Harley 1-3, Andersson 1-2, Detmer 0-1, Hilliard 0-1, Cummins 0-1). Rebounds: Notre Dame: 35 (Kurz 8), Lafayette 23 (Brown 4, Hines 4). Assists: Notre Dame: 28 (McAlarney 12), Lafayette 15 (Brown 4). Total Fouls: Notre Dame 23, Lafayette 23. Attendance: N/A.
