IrishIllustrated.com - Irish host Cardinal Stritch

November 2, 2012

Tim Prister
IrishIllustrated.com Senior Editor

No. 22/23 Notre Dame closes out its two-game exhibition schedule Friday night at Purcell Pavilion when the Irish host NAIA Division II Cardinal Stritch University out of Milwaukee.

Tip-off has been moved from 9 p.m. ET to 8 p.m., following the pep rally for Saturday's Notre Dame-Pittsburgh football game.

The Irish hope to continue their unselfish play from Monday night when they ran past Quincy (Ill.) University, 111-52. The Irish shot 62.3 percent from the field and dished out assists on 30 of 43 field goals made while shooting 40.7 percent (11-of-27) from three-point range.

Six Irish players scored in double figures, led by Jack Cooley with 21 points and seven rebounds. Eric Atkins scored 17 points (6-of-6 shooting) and handed out 13 assists without a turnover.

Jerian Grant scored 19 points with eight assists and four rebounds. Pat Connaughton scored 12 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and handed out six assists. Garrick Sherman and Cameron Biedscheid each scored 12 points. Scott Martin just missed becoming the seventh player to score in double figures with nine points.

A member of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, the Wolves were 30-6 overall last season and a perfect 14-0 in CCAC play. Drew Diener, who has fashioned a 78-25 record at Cardinal Stritch, is in his fourth season in Milwaukee. He has a 37-3 conference record in three seasons. Diener, who played college basketball at St. Louis University, is the cousin of former Marquette sharpshooter Travis Diener and the brother of former DePaul Blue Demon Drake Diener.

The Wolves are led by 6-foot-3 junior Derek Semenas, who averaged 15.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game last year while connecting on a team-leading 54 three-pointers. Also returning for Cardinal Stritch are 6-foot-3 sophomore Chad Mazur (9.5 ppg., 49 three-pointers), 5-foot-11 sophomore Tony Smith (9.3 ppg., 43 three-pointers), and 5-foot-6 junior Mike Simpson (7.7 ppg.).

Notre Dame opens regular-season play Saturday, Nov. 10, at home versus Evansville, a member of the Missouri Valley Conference that finished 16-16 (9-9) in 2011-12. Tip-off time will be determined when the kickoff time for Notre Dame at Boston College is set early next week.