Notre Dame hoops rallies in second half to get by BYU
By Doug Griffiths
ISL Assistant Editor
Notre Dame bounced back from a disappointing overtime loss to St. Joseph’s Friday night and beat BYU 78-68 a day later in the consolation game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Brooklyn’s Barclay Center.
Three players for the 20th-ranked Irish scored in double figures led by forward Jack Cooley’s 19-point, 13-rebound effort and guard Jerian Grant’s 19-point night.
Cooley and Grant, who also had five assists, four turnovers and three steals, shot a combined 61.9 percent (13-of-21) from the floor and were 11-for-14 from the foul line.
Joining those two in double figures was guard Eric Atkins. He chipped in 16 points.
Irish coach Mike Brey liked what he got from Cooley, Grant and Atkins and was pleased with his team’s overall resiliency.
I’m very proud of our team because we invested a lot of energy last night (vs. St. Joseph’s) and had our hearts broken, Brey said.
We were moping around a little bit today, rightfully so, and I thought by pregame meal we had our heads up.
Notre Dame trailed 32-31 at the break and by as many as seven (49-42) in the second half.
I’m impressed with our maturity because we were in a battle and were down seven in the second half and to find a way to get out of here with a win I’m proud of our group, Brey said.
Brey helped changed the game’s momentum by switching from man-to-man defense to a two-three zone.
Going to a zone helped us because we had a hard time guarding them in man-to-man, Brey admitted. This group really does play well together on both sides of the floor.
Brey said he didn’t opt to play zone the entire game because he feared BYU’s outside shooters.
The Irish defense improved with the strategic change and so, too, did their offense.
A 12-0 run ensued over a span of four minutes that turned the disadvantage into a 54-49 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game. Four different Irish players scored during the spurt.
However, the game was still very much in doubt after BYU trimmed Notre Dame’s lead to 63-61 with 4:27 to play, but the Irish outscored the Cougars 9-2 over the next 3:26 to take control.
Grant scored seven points down the stretch as the Irish made 10-of-12 free throws in the final 61 seconds to solidify the victory.
Atkins credited his backcourt mate Grant for helping the Irish escape the Big Apple with a victory.
Jerian did a great job of attacking off the ball screen, Atkins said. I think (Jerian) really got everyone involved and he got himself going driving to the hoop.
Grant deflected any accolades given to him towards Cooley.
Jack is huge, Grant said. Whenever we need a bucket or need to get the offense going we throw it in to him and he seems to be able to make a play somehow or grab a big rebound.
The Irish shot the ball well. They were 52.1 percent from the floor (25-of-48), including 46.2 percent from three-point range (6-of-13). In addition, Notre Dame knocked down 14 of 18 free throws.
BYU, on the other hand, struggled shooting the basketball, especially from distance. The Cougars managed to knock down one of their six three-pointers in the second stanza to finish 3-of-14 from long range.
Overall, BYU (2-2) shot it at a 38.1 percent clip (24-of-63).
The Irish return to action Wednesday to face 1-1 George Washington at 7 p.m. in Purcell Pavilion.
