As if there was any concern about its final game before the New Year and the rest of its ACC schedule, Notre Dame led wire-to-wire in an 82-56 win over Alabama A&M on Sunday at Purcell Pavilion. Five players scored in double figures for the Irish (9-4) while the Bulldogs (3-8) never recovered from a first half in which they shot 7 of 36 from the field (19.4 percent).
T.J. Gibbs had a 7-of-10 shooting performance while leading all scorers with 17 points. John Mooney pulled down his latest double-double of 16 points and 18 rebounds. Dane Goodwin scored 12 off the bench, and 11 points each came from Juwan Durham and Prentiss Gibbs. Durham went to the locker room after suffering a sprained left knee on a rebound but returned to the bench before the game was over.
Notre Dame finishes its nonconference schedule at 9-2. The slate that will determine whether it goes dancing in March begins Saturday with a trip to Syracuse. A win would get the Irish back on the right track after earlier ACC losses to North Carolina and Boston College.