Bumped to the losers bracket of the Maui Invitational, Notre Dame appeared to struggle to find motivation to beat Chaminade of Division II. At some points in the first half, it appeared the Silverswords might deal the Irish perhaps the most humiliating defeat in program history. Instead, the Irish came out hot after halftime and won, 90-64. They now will play Texas A&M in the fifth-place game of the tournament.
The Irish (3-1) led by as much as eight in the first half but later trailed by four after the Silverswords (2-2) went on a 7-0 run. A Blake Wesley layup as time expired in the frame put the Irish up three, and that tiny margin left everyone wonder what would happen in the second half. What happened was the Irish decided to quit messing around, and they scored 21 points to open the half as part of a 23-0 run that put the game out of reach. It allowed Mike Brey to empty his bench for the final couple of minutes.
All five Irish starters scored in double figures. They were led by Dane Goodwin, who had a game-high 17 points. Nate Laszewski achieved a double-double of 15 points and 15 rebounds. In another sign of what could be a great freshman season, Blake Wesley scored 14 points coming off the bench.