Freshman T.J. Gibbs Shines In Exhibition Win

In the opinion of 17th-year head coach Mike Brey, it was a classic Notre Dame performance.

The Irish assisted on 26 of their 41 field goals, shot 62.1-percent from the floor and had no trouble with Division II Mercy College in a 119-58 victory in the team’s first exhibition game of the 2016-17 season.

“I love our unselfishness,” Brey said. “Our culture’s our culture, moving the ball, making the extra pass.”

Senior wing V.J. Beachem led all scorers with 18 points. Freshman point guard T.J. Gibbs had 16, junior forward Bonzie Colson and junior point guard Matt Farrell each had 14 and junior forward Martinas Geben scored 12 for the Irish.

Geben, a first-year full-time starter, led the team with nine rebounds. Farrell, also a first-year starter, had a team-high 10 assists.

But it was Gibbs, who played 19 minutes, who impressed with his ability to score. the Scotch Plains, N.J., native was a perfect 4-for-4, hit both of his 3-point attempts and made all six of his free throws.

“It was my first ever time in a college setting,” Gibbs said. “It was great to be out there. Nerves quickly went away. Talked to Matt briefly right before the game and he told me to stay calm and just play like we’ve been playing in practice and everything will work itself out and it did.”

Gibbs saw minutes alongside Farrell, which gives the Irish a speed dynamic that makes them tough.

“It’s two Jersey guys, I’ve seen him play for a while now and it’s great to finally get with him instead of playing against him,” Gibbs said.

The Irish have played with two point guards at once plenty in the past, most recently the duos of Jerian Grant and Demetrius Jackson and Jackson and Farrell.

“The thing about both those ball handlers is they’re both shot makers, too, they both can shoot it,” Brey said. “They can get off the ball and give you a scoring threat.”

Farrell, who was a key player for the Irish in their NCAA Tournament run last season, liked what he saw out of his backcourt mate.

“He has a really bright future. Really smart and he’s really smooth,” Farrell said of Gibbs. “I love the way he plays. We love playing together so hopefully that can be something to look forward to. Special guy and he shot the (expletive) out of the ball today. I didn’t think he was going to shoot it that well. I’ve seen him shoot, but not shoot that well.”

IRISH PREVIEW ROTATION

Notre Dame went with its expected starting lineup of Farrell at point guard, senior Steve Vasturia at the other guard spot, Beachem on the wing and Colson and Geben at the forward positions.

The Irish went small with their first substitutions. Like Brey did much of last season, Geben was replaced on the floor by a wing, in this case sophomore Rex Pflueger at the 15:04 mark of the first half.

Senior forward Austin Torres and Gibbs came off the bench with 14:07 left in the half. At the 7:29 mark, freshman forward John Mooney and sophomore forward Elijah Burns — who missed all of last season recovered from ankle surgery — entered the game for the first time.

Freshman guard Nikola Djogo replaced Beachem at the 4:57 mark. The final two players off the Irish bench were junior forward Matt Gregory at the 1:51 mark of the second half, and graduate forward Patrick Mazza with 1:20 left in the game.

Sophomore wing Matt Ryan did not participate in the exhibition. He suffered a stress reaction in his right foot during preseason and has been back practicing with the team. He is expected back for the team’s season opener against Bryant Nov. 12.

GEBEN MAKES STARTING DEBUT

It wasn’t the ideal first minute for the 6-foot-10, 255-pound Lithuanian, who was called for traveling on the game’s opening possession while battling for position underneath.

He quickly redeemed himself, scoring Notre Dame’s first basket while providing energy running the floor and moving the ball.

Geben played 17 minutes and was on the bench for stretches of the game as Brey went with his smaller lineup.

“I want him to just feel good about playing and starting and playing major minutes,” Brey said of Geben. “A lot of guys felt good in the jersey for the first time, and there’s something to be said for that when you take a new group out on the floor.”

Geben, Notre Dame’s most physical big man, picked up three fouls in the first half. While not ideal, the fouls aren’t a major concern to Brey.

“He’s going to need to be physical,” Brey said. “We’ve got other bodies and he was pretty solid for us. He got on the backboard, got some big offensive rebounds and kicked it out. That’s a body we can use like that.

“We’re not trying to save him, because we’ve got some other guys, but he does a great job screening and getting people open. He’s got to do a little dirty work for us, and sometimes that means fouling.”

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