South Bend, IN – Pat Connaughton tallied 18 points, six rebounds and five assists as No. 22 Notre Dame defeated Indiana University- Purdue University Fort Wayne, 74-62, on Monday.
Jack Cooley totaled 14 points and eight boards and Scott Martin followed with 13 points and seven rebounds for the Fighting Irish (10-1), who captured their eighth straight victory.
"You know that team (IPFW) really defends" said Notre Dame coach Mike Brey, whose team overcame 13 turnovers. "They're athletic, they bothered us especially in the first half."
Luis Jacobo and Joe Edwards each poured in 11 points for the Mastodons (5-7), who dropped their third straight game to fall to 1-6 on the road this season.
"I give Notre Dame a lot of credit, they played well," said IPFW coach Tony Jasick. "In the second half down the stretch, I felt like we were making a little bit of a run, and I felt like they made a number of shots at the end of the shot clock when we were playing pretty good defense."
Demario Hines, who chipped in with 10 points off the bench, scored on a layup to pull IPFW within two at 13-11 early in the contest, however Garrick Sherman's bucket for the Irish capped an 8-0 spurt to give them a 10-point lead just past the halfway point in the opening period.
Notre Dame built a lead as many as 14 in the first half following a Martin triple and carried a 40-28 advantage into halftime.
Jacobo nailed a 3-pointer early in the second stanza to bring the Mastodons within 44-33, but Notre Dame responded with an 11-3 run to take a 19-point lead with 13:37 to go.
Edwards knocked down a three with just over three minutes left in the contest to cut IPFW's deficit to 12, but they never came any closer.
Game Notes
The Irish have won 14 straight at home and improved to 43-1 in their last 44 contests as the host ... IPFW is 0-4 all-time against Notre Dame.
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