Notre Dame beats Liberty 91-72; Harangody posts 32
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- With Ben Hansbrough slowed by an ankle injury, Notre Dame had trouble finding its offensive rhythm in the first half against Liberty.
They finally found it, taking command with a 9-0 run early in the second half as the Fighting Irish beat the Flames 91-72 on Sunday in the Chicago Invitational Challenge.
"We've learned to play a certain way offensively and it was a little bit thrown off because he's still sore and we're trying to get him healthy," Irish coach Mike Brey said.
Hansbrough, who entered the game averaging 16 points, finished with six points in 21 minutes. Luke Harangody scored 32 points, making all 10 of his free throws, to pace the Irish. He scored three straight baskets early in the second half to give the Irish (4-0) a 56-40 lead.
Harangody said Brey let the team know at halftime he wasn't happy with their play.
"Our offense was down and we were kind of lackadaisical on the defensive end. We needed to pick that up right away," Harangody said.
The Irish played better defensively in the second half, forcing 12 turnovers to finish with 19 for the game. That led to 23 Notre Dame points off turnovers. Brey said the Irish need to learn that they can't afford not to hustle on defense.
"We're not good enough to be disinterested defensively against people," he said. "We've got to be really locked in. Our margin for error is small."
Liberty coach Dale Layer said the Flames (1-4) had no answer for Harangody. He's familiar with Harangody after being an assistant last season at Marquette, a Big East rival of the Irish.
"Harangody is such a unique guy, because whatever you take away from him, he's comfortable at the next spot," Layer said.
Harangody scored 20 points in the first half on 4-of-7 shooting, then made his first five shots from the floor to open the second half.
Kyle Ohman led Liberty with 13 points and Evan Gordon, the brother of former Indiana guard Eric Gordon, scored 12. David Minaya added 11 and Chris McMasters and Patrick Konan had 10 points each.
Tim Abromaitis and Tyrone Nash had 12 points each for Notre Dame.