Dane Goodwin continues surge, hits milestone as Notre Dame breezes past WMU
After another disappointing loss Saturday to Indiana in the 2021 Crossroads Classic, Notre Dame returned to the court Monday night and rebounded with a solid 85-52 win over Western Michigan at Purcell Pavilion.
As a 21-point favorite, a blowout of the Mid-American Conference bottom-dwelling Broncos (4-7) didn’t rate as marquee or memorable for the Irish (5-5).
But perhaps it can start a win streak, with one non-conference game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi remaining Wednesday before ACC play hits full speed Dec. 28, with a trip to ACC cellar resident Pittsburgh. Those precede a home date with No. 2 Duke on New Year’s Day.
“I thought we did a great job running our half court stuff, getting into our offense,” Irish head coach Mike Brey said after the win.
Two extended scoring spurts in the first half sparked the easy win: a 10-0 run in the first three minutes of the game, followed later by a 13-0 run late in the first stanza that helped Notre Dame build a 44-23 lead at the break.
The Irish were never threatened, and at one point led 60-30 in the second half. Brey, though, remained glued to his usual seven-man rotation until 2:56 remained in the game and Notre Dame led 82-49.
With four players in double-digits, scoring balance highlighted the night for the Irish.
Senior guard Dane Goodwin led all scorers and tied his season high with 18 points on a night when the team captain also became the 66th Irish player to score 1,000 career points. He has scored in double figures in every game this season.
“He’s been a rock from us from day one,” Brey said afterward. “He’s been really good. He’s become a better leader and captain for us.”
Grad senior forward Paul Atkinson Jr. dominated in the post with 17 points. Freshman guard Blake Wesley added 15 points that included an athletic and memorable breakaway dunk in the first half. Senior guard Cormac Ryan came off the bench for the first time this year and added 13 points. Senior Prentiss Hubb replaced him in the starting lineup after three games out of it.
Typically one of the best teams in the country at sharing and caring for the basketball, Notre Dame entered its game Monday night ranked only 11th in the 15-team ACC in assists/turnover ratio after managing only five assists and 14 turnovers Saturday in the loss to Indiana.
It was much better against overmatched Western Michigan, recording 19 assists on its 29 baskets with only seven turnovers.
Obviously, Western Michigan from the MAC isn’t as talented as Indiana from the Big Ten, but the shooting discrepancy from Saturday to Monday remains significant. Notre Dame shot 36 percent from the field and 4 of 22 from three-point range against Indiana. Against Western Michigan, it shot 52 percent overall and 14-of-31 (45 percent) from beyond the arc.
Up Next: In a rare weekday matinee, Notre Dame welcomes Texas A&M Corpus Christi to Purcell Pavilion Wednesday at 1 p.m.
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