National Basketball Association
Notre Dame 89, Niagara 67
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, December 21, 2012
Where: Joyce Center, South Bend, Indiana
Officials:
# Robert Riley, # Wally Rutecki, # Michael Stephens
Attendance:
8043
By SportsDirect Inc.
No. 22 Notre Dame 89, Niagara 67: Jack Cooley had season-highs of 24 points and 15 rebounds as the host Irish extended their winning streak to 10 games.
Cooley had 20 points and 10 boards in the first half for Notre Dame (12-1), which led 42-34 at halftime and extended the lead to 17 when Pat Connaughton scored with 10:40 remaining.
Antoine Mason paced Niagara (5-7) with 17 points on 7-of-22 shooting and Juan'ya Green added 11 points. The Purple Eagles were held to 36.8 percent shooting and outrebounded 40-28 while falling to 12-78 all-time against ranked teams.
Notre Dame, which is off until its Big East season opener against Seton Hall on Jan. 5, headed into the break on a high note by shooting a season-high 62 percent from the field and 8-of-16 (50 percent) from 3-point range.
Freshman Cameron Biedscheid hit four 3-pointers and finished with 15 points for Notre Dame, which led by 24 after Jerian Grant scored on back-to-back possessions with 5:26 to play. Grant scored 13 points after leaving Wednesday’s game against Kennesaw State early with a sore back.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Irish improved to 110-7 in their last 117 home games. … Cooley has nine double-doubles this season, including six in the last eight games. … Notre Dame’s 10-game winning streak is the team’s longest since 2007-08.
Top Game Performances
Niagara |
|
Notre Dame |
Antoine Mason 17 |
Scoring |
Jack Cooley 24 |
Marvin Jordan 3 |
Assists |
Jerian Grant 8 |
Antoine Mason 6 |
Rebounds |
Jack Cooley 15 |
Juan'ya Green 2 |
Free Throws Made |
Jack Cooley 6 |
T.J. Cline 1 |
Steals |
Jerian Grant 2 |
Devon White 1 |
Blocks |
Jack Cooley 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Niagara
|
67 |
36.8 |
10-27 |
7-15 |
17 |
28 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
Notre Dame
|
89 |
62.0 |
8-16 |
19-22 |
25 |
40 |
5 |
3 |
11 |