No. 22 Notre Dame cruises past Brown 84-57
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame freshman Cameron Biedscheid missed practice this week after catching the flu. He felt a lot better Saturday night.
Biedscheid had a career-high 17 points to lead the 22nd-ranked Fighting Irish to an 84-57 victory over Brown. The reserve forward was 7 for 10 from the field in 17 minutes and has scored in double figures in three of the past four games.
“We came out ready to play,” he said. “I’m just really getting a lot of help from the veteran guys. They talk to me a lot out on the floor and it helps keep me focused, and I’ve just really been stepping up and knocking the shots down.”
There were plenty of opportunities for shots because Notre Dame took such good care of the ball, finished with three turnovers and 22 assists.
“How about Eric Atkins for the Heisman?” coach Mike Brey quipped, referring to his point guard on the same night Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o was the runner-up for college football’s most prestigious award. “Amazing.”
Atkins had 10 points and 12 assists. He led the team in minutes with 38, but had no turnovers.
“I really don’t think about my turnovers too much, I’m just out there playing,” Atkins said. “I’m just trying to stay aggressive and these guys are getting open and helping me out, so it makes it easy for me.”
The Irish (8-1) had five players score in double figures. Jack Cooley added 15 points and 12 rebounds, Scott Martin scored 14 and Jerian Grant finished with 12.
Notre Dame dominated inside, outrebounding Brown 42-32 and outscoring the Bears 38-16 in the paint.
Matt Sullivan scored 18 for Brown (3-5). He was 4 for 8 from 3-point range.
Notre Dame led 42-27 at halftime and put the game away midway through the second half. Grant and Martin made back-to-back 3-pointers to cap a 12-0 run that gave the Irish a 71-45 lead with 6:02 to go.
Irish sixth man Garrick Sherman was out after bruising a knee in practice this week, creating some playing time for Zach Auguste and Tom Knight. Knight, a senior who draws praise from his teammates for his work ethic in practice, had four points and seven rebounds.
“I’m thrilled with the lift Tom Knight gave us,” Brey said. “It’s interesting how it makes me think a little differently here as we move forward. That may be our seventh guy.”
Sean McGonagill added 15 points for Brown.
“I was disappointed with our team’s effort for 40 minutes,” first-year Brown coach Mike Martin said. “I thought we showed flashes ... but against a team like this in a building like this, you’ve got to do it for 40 minutes, otherwise they’re going to make you pay.”