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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
INDIANAPOLIS -- Troy Murphy and coach Mike Brey wanted to
make a point for Notre Dame's long-struggling basketball program,
and it was mission accomplished Saturday afternoon.
|  | | Notre Dame's David Graves goes up strong as he gets fouled by Cincinnati's Rod Flowers. |
Murphy scored 30 points, blocked six shots and had seven
rebounds to lead Notre Dame over Cincinnati 69-51 in
the inaugural John Wooden Tradition game.
"It was kind of a program game." Brey said. "Their program is
thought of better than ours. For us to earn what we've gotten in
the preseason, we have to beat teams like this. It's definitely
something to build on in the third game of the season."
Brey has opened his first season coaching the Irish (No. 15 ESPN/USA Today; No. 14 Associated Press) with three
victories.
"It does a lot for our program to beat a team like Cincinnati (No. 13 ESPN/USA Today; No. 16 AP). A lot of people said we hadn't really been tested," said Murphy, who decided to return to the Irish this season instead of leaving for the NBA. "It was good to be tested today, and play like we did."
With Notre Dame leading 45-40, Murphy hit a 3-pointer with 9:30
to play, the first of nine consecutive points for the Irish. The run
put Notre Dame ahead 54-46 with 6:13 remaining, matching what was
its biggest lead of the game at the time.
Kenny Satterfield's 3-pointer, the first in 13 shots from behind
the arc by Cincinnati, closed the Bearcats to five points down.
But Notre Dame responded with a 3-pointer by David Graves to ignite
a decisive 14-point run by the Irish as the Bearcats went scoreless
for more than five minutes.
"We weren't very good defensively at the end of the game. I
thought for 30 minutes we were very good defensively ... then we
just couldn't make shots," said Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins.
Satterfield led Cincinnati (2-1) with 17 points and Donald
Little was the only other player in double figures with 12.
"That was a huge confidence builder," Brey said of the late
run by his team. "That's what big-time programs do down the
stretch. You have to know who to get the ball to."
Graves contributed 17 points to the victory and Ryan Humphrey
had 10 rebounds and 10 points.
Satterfield's 3-pointer came with 5:53 to go, then Cincinnati
missed eight shots and had two turnovers before his basket with
39.8 seconds to play.
Cincinnati, which shot 46 percent in victories over Marshall and
Boise State, was 34 percent from the field and 1-for-17 from
3-point range.
Both teams came out cold. Cincinnati went nearly three minutes
before scoring, missing its first four shots before Satterfield
made a layup. Notre Dame never trailed, scoring the game's first
five points on a jumper by Matt Carroll and a 3-pointer by Martin
Ingelsby.
The Bearcats remained close despite hitting only eight of 24 shots from
the field to open the game. Notre Dame was only eight of 18 over
the same 12 minutes, but the Irish held an 18-14 edge on the
strength of four 3-pointers.
Cincinnati closed to one point four times early in the second
half, the last at 37-36. The Irish answered with six consecutive
points -- four on free throws by Graves and two on Murphy free
throws.
"Coach Brey talked a lot about withstanding runs. They came out all jacked up at the beginning of the second half. We had to be
poised," Murphy said. "We were prepared for it, and we knew how
to come back."
The Irish outrebounded the Bearcats 49-35 and outhustled them
for loose balls, leading to a 19-4 point advantage from the free
throw line.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Cincinnati Clubhouse
Notre Dame Clubhouse
Wooden wisdom: Game needs less flash, more fundamentals
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Notre Dame's Troy Murphy posts up his defender and drains the the turnaround jumper.
avi: 1028 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Cincinnati's Kenny Satterfield makes the steal and finishes with the layup.
avi: 739 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Notre Dame shows how to break a full court press.
avi: 985 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Troy Murphy drains the 3-pointer.
avi: 634 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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