After a win over Syracuse in its ACC opener, the Notre Dame men’s basketball team had two more nonconference games scheduled. The first of those games took place against Dartmouth, and it wasn’t in serious doubt for the most part. Although the Big Green made a late run, the Irish emerged with a 77-65 victory.
The Irish (6-5) led the Big Green (4-5) wire-to-wire mainly because of a better and smarter offensive attack early in the first half. They shot 63% from the field in that frame and held a 28-12 advantage in points in the paint.
Although the Irish’s shooting slightly tailed off in the second half for a final field-goal percentage of .525, their drives to the basket produced more overall success than the Big Green’s focus on 3-point shooting (6-of-33). They also were opportunistic, holding a lopsided 16-4 advantage in points off turnovers.
During the final minutes, the Big Green cut what had been an 18-point Irish lead in half thanks to a 9-0 run. But despite not making a field goal in the final five-and-a-half minutes, the Irish had built up enough of a lead that it proved to be inconsequential, and the Big Green got no closer.
[autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] led all scorers with 22 points, including four 3-pointers. [autotag]Tae Davis[/autotag] produced the fourth double-double of his career with 20 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. [autotag]Matt Allocco[/autotag] scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half and dished out a game-high five assists:
The Irish next will be in action Sunday against Le Moyne to close nonconference play.
Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.
Follow Geoffrey on X: @gfclark89