South Bend, IN (SportsNetwork.com) - Jerian Grant, Zach Auguste and Steve Vasturia all scored 19 points as No. 25 Notre Dame shot the lights out in a 93-67 rout of Mount St. Mary's on Tuesday.
The Irish (9-1) snuck into the top-25 this week with an overtime victory over nationally-ranked Michigan State and have won five in a row since losing to Providence on Nov. 23.
They entered Tuesday's game with the best field goal percentage in the nation (55.8 percent) and bettered it by making 59.0 percent of their shots.
Demetrius Jackson added 15 points for Notre Dame, while Chris Martin led Mount St. Mary's (2-5) with 19 points on the strength of five 3-pointers.
The onslaught started early, as the Irish scored 14 points in the first three minutes and jumped out to a 14-3 lead on a Jackson 3-pointer.
A Martin triple had the visitors within 22-18 midway through the opening half, but a Grant jumper and two Vasturia 3-pointers stretched the difference back to double digits.
"It's my job to make those shots, so I'm trying to work on it and be more aggressive," Vasturia said. "It's about taking the opportunities I get and trying to take advantage of them."
After a Mount St. Mary's bucket, Notre Dame scored 22 of the next 24 points and went into the break with a comfortable 52-27 advantage.
The outcome was never threatened in the second half.
"We were getting bullied in the first half," Martin said. "I think it would've been a different game if we came out in the second half like we did the first half. So if we just work on that as team, I feel like we can be good the rest of the season."
Game Notes
Notre Dame won the only other meeting against Mount St. Mary's, 78-64, back on Nov. 29, 2003 ... The Irish open their ACC schedule on Saturday against Florida State ... Notre Dame is 22-0 all-time against teams currently in the NEC ... The Mountaineers host Norfolk State on Saturday.
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