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  Saturday, Nov. 18 8:30pm ET
Murphy, Irish pound Sacred Heart
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- Troy Murphy had 31 points and 14 rebounds and Ryan Humphrey added 19 points as Notre Dame beat Sacred Heart 104-58 in coach Mike Brey's debut with the Irish.

Martin Ingelsby made all five of his 3-pointers in the first half, as the Irish made 9-of-12 3-pointers in the first half and opened a 24-point halftime lead. The Irish also had a four-point play by Matt Carroll early in the first half and had two three-point plays.

The 104 points is the most for the Irish since they beat Sienna 107-96 in the second game last season, and the first-time they broke 100 points in a season-opener since beating St. Joseph's of Indiana 104-56 in 1983.

The largest loss by the Pioneers (0-1) last season was 43 points against Wagner.

Carroll added 17 points, six assists and five rebounds, and Ingelsby finished with 15 points and six assists in his first start at point guard in more than a year. Humphrey, who sat out last season after transferring from Oklahoma, was 7-of-10 shooting, including several highlight-reel jams. He also had nine rebounds.

Sacred Heart, a Fairfield, Conn., school entering its second season in Division I, was led by Andrew Hunter's 15 points. Kurt Reis added 14 points and Marijus Kovaliukas added 10 points and seven rebounds.

The Irish took control midway through the first half. Leading 25-20, the Irish went on an 18-4 run. Ingelsby capped the spurt with his fifth 3-pointer as the Irish opened a 43-24 lead. The Irish extended the lead to 47-33 at halftime as they shot 65.5 percent while holding the Pioneers to 32.1 percent shooting.

The Irish opened the second half with a 10-0 run to put the game away.

As Brey promised, Notre Dame used man-to-man defense through much of the contest. But they were in a zone when they opened the game up, switching to a zone when the score was tied at 8 and switching back to man defense when they were up 34-20.

Notre Dame shot 57.1 percent for the game while the Pioneers shot 28.8 percent.

 


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Mens College Basketball Scoreboard

Sacred Heart Clubhouse

Notre Dame Clubhouse