Notre Dame returns from Rome to show no mercy to Mercyhurst, 83-56

Notre Dame’s triumphant win over Villanova in Rome gave a jolt of confidence and optimism in the men’s basketball team, and it showed in a beatdown of Mercyhurst inside Purcell Pavilion.

Irish Lead Entire Way In 83-56 Win Over Mercyhurst

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – It was a dominant showing start to finish for Notre Dame men’s basketball Thursday night in its home opener vs. Mercyhurst. The Fighting Irish (2-0) led the entire way, jumping out to a 25-7 start and never looking back, defeating the Lakers (0-2), 83-56. 

“We talked before the game, at halftime, and again after the game, what our standard is and what we are pushing toward every single day. At times we were there. Now we got to get it where we are more consistent. Just proud of these guys for how they played and how they responded,” Glenn & Stacey Murphy Head Coach Micah Shrewsberry said. 

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The Irish shot over 50 percent from the field each half, finishing 28-of-52 (.538) in the game. They drained 15 three pointers (15-of-32, 46.9 percent) for the first time since Jan. 14, 2023. The Blue & Gold also outrebounded Mercyhurst 32-22, which included limiting them to zero first half offensive rebounds. 

Ethan Roberts led in scoring tonight with 18 points, missing just one shot from the field (6-of-7 overall, 3-of-4 from three). 

Braeden Shrewsberry poured in 12 of his 17 points in the second half. A half in which he went 4-for-5 from three-point range. He finished with five made triples in the game. 

Brady Koehler also posted 17 points tonight, tying his career high. The sophomore also only missed one shot from the field, and went a perfect 4-for-4 from beyond the arc, as the later marked a career best

Braeden Smith tied his career high of 10 assists to go along with his five points. In fact, Smith assisted on four of the team’s first seven made baskets. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Fighting Irish fired off a quick 8-0 run, prompting a Mercyhurt timeout at 18:01. Braeden Smith assisted on threes from Ethan Roberts and Brady Koehler, while Braeden Shrewsberry found Logan Duncomb wide open down low for the easy score. 

Out of the timeout, Smith assisted on the next three-pointer, this one from Shrewsberry. Moments later, Koehler drained another three, which was followed by five straight points from Roberts. 

At the 14:54 media timeout, it was 19-5 in favor of the Blue & Gold. Moments later, Tommy Ahneman added an and-one, followed by a Logan Imes three. At the 13-minute mark, it was 25-7 Irish, with the home squad starting 9-for-11 from the field and 6-for-7 from beyond the arc. 

The Irish momentarily stalled with a six-minute scoring drought, but later got back on track thanks to the trio of Ahneman, Shrewsberry and Devin Brown combining for a 7-0 run to keep Notre Dame comfortably ahead at 34-13. Brown’s three-pointer marked his first bucket in an Irish uniform. 

Notre Dame ultimately took a 38-23 lead into halftime in which they shot 50.0 percent from the field and 7-of-16 (.438) from deep. They totaled nine assists on 14 made field goals and outrebounded Mercyhurst 23-8. 

Braeden Shrewsberry led at the midway point in both points (10) and rebounds (5). The senior was a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor. The next highest was Brady Koehler with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting. Braeden Smith led with four assists. 

Mercyhurst scored the first four points of the second half, cutting the deficit to 11. Then, Shrewsberry answered with back-to-back threes, stymying the short momentum spurt. Koehler followed on the next possession with a mid-range pull-up, marking an 8-0 run and Lakers timeout. 

That scoring spree ballooned to a 17-0 run fueled by the following: a third Shrewsberry triple, a Roberts triple, a Koehler bucket and free throws and finally Anheman free throws.  

Ultimately, over a 10-minute stretch from 18:51-8:04, the Irish outscored the Lakers 31-9. 

With 7:25 remaining, Koehler was feeling it, draining back-to-back treys to push his game total to 17 points. Shrewsberry followed soon after with his fifth triple of the game, pushing his total to 17 as well, and the team score to 78-43. The Shrewsberry three-pointer capped an 8-for-8 Irish shooting stretch.

From there, it was smooth sailing, as a Jonathan Sanderson three marked ND’s final bucket of the night, bringing us to our final of 83-56. 

UP NEXT

The 2-0 Fighting Irish get right back to it at home on Monday, November 9. Notre Dame will tip off against Eastern Illinois at 7 p.m. ET on ACCNX.