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Irish Flash Prowess On Both Ends In 83-48 Blowout Of Loyola Maryland

VJ Beachem led all scorers with 21 points in Notre Dame's dismantling of Loyola Maryland.
VJ Beachem led all scorers with 21 points in Notre Dame's dismantling of Loyola Maryland. (BGI/Joe Raymond)

It was the VJ Beachem and Bonzie Colson show Friday night as the duo scored 40 combined points to lead Notre Dame (3-0) to an 83-48 blowout victory over Loyola (Md.) (1-3).

Beachem, the senior wing, led all scorers with 21 points while Colson, the junior forward, added 19 points and also grabbed seven rebounds. They were the only two players in double figures.

Senior guard Steve Vasturia scored nine points and dished out four assists and junior point guard Matt Farrell recorded eight points and three assists. Junior big man Martinas Geben finished with his best game of the season scoring four points and grabbing 10 rebounds to lead all players. Freshman forward John Mooney contributed seven points and four rebounds in seven minutes of action.

Sophomore guard Rex Pflueger added seven points, three rebounds and two assists to the cause and Matt Ryan scored six points and grabbed four rebounds. Freshman point guard TJ Gibbs didn’t find his way into the scoring column, but dished out five assists and notched two steals.

The Irish continued its offensive prowess to start this season finishing 34-of-70 from the field (48.6 percent) and knocking in 10-of-25 (40 percent) from deep. It was the first time this season where the second half shooting performance outpaced the first half. A 15-of-32 (46.9 percent) clip in the first half was followed by an even 50 percent clip of 19-of-38.

Here are some of the bigger takeaways from the Irish victory.

Beachem and Colson Show

Two-thirds of Notre Dame’s ‘Big 3’ stole the show scoring 48 percent of the team’s total of 83. The duo exited the game with around six minutes remaining and at the time had scored 40 of a possible 70 points. Colson added the seven rebounds and three assists to his efforts.

“I feel like at times if I have my shot and can score I have to attack,” Colson said. “I feel like that really gives us confidence as a team and gives us a little edge and I’m making sure I attack the glass and defend.”

Both players also got the job done on the defensive end. Colson recorded four of the team’s eight blocks and Beachem notched four steals and a block.

“That’s something I’ve been focusing on my entire career and I think it’s finally coming into fruition as far as being more than a jump shooter,” Beachem said of his defense. “I was trying to be active on the defensive end today.”

Defense Prowess (Block City)

The Irish almost equaled their total of nine blocks in the first two games. Eight shots were swatted by Notre Dame with five different players doing so. The aforementioned Colson led the way with four and Beachem, Geben, redshirt freshman forward Elijah Burns and sophomore forward Matt Ryan each recorded a block.

A season-high 13 steals were recorded against Loyola with Beachem securing a team-high four. Vasturia was next on the list three. Notre Dame is averaging double-digit steals through the first three games with a total of 34 thus far (11.3 SPG average). The team defense continues to complement the offense well early in the season.

“I love the way we defended,” Mike Brey said. “I thought we were flying all over the place…We had a bunch of deflections, guys on the floor…Loved that energy. I’m hoping we can be a very good defensive team to help us on nights when we aren’t making shots.

“Our guards were flying around, but we’ve never had frontline guys move their feet, get out on ball screens then rotate and bounce back and block a shot, rebound and outlet. The speed defensive was amazing to watch.”

Loyola didn't have one scorer in double-digits.

Big Men Flash

Geben and Mooney showed their capabilities against Loyola with Geben scoring four points and grabbing 10 rebounds and Mooney recording seven points and four rebounds in limited action. Brey knows the team will need both players to continue this play as the year moves forward.

“I wanted to get him more minutes,” Brey said of Geben. “We really haven’t played small much…We’ve kept two bigs in the game. They’re so good with the ball and they’re so good at understanding at our spacing and screening that we’re still efficient offensively.

“I watched tonight and again you can’t get to everyone, but I watched John Mooney tonight just in those seven minutes and how he defensive rebounded and he certainly can make a shot…We need to keep him engaged because he’s going to be important for us.”

Offensive Efficiency Continues

Notre Dame has been quite efficient on offense through the first three games of the young season. The team is shooting 96-of-196 from the field which equals out to almost 49 percent. From three-point range Notre Dame is 28-of-75 for a 37.3 percent clip. The good numbers from the field overall and from deep can be traced to the ball movement and passing of the team so far this year.

On 96 made baskets overall, 59 have come by the way on an assist (61.5 percent). The Irish have been able to get open looks and are knocking them down and instilling early confidence in the offense.

“I got home the other night and I was watching the Warriors game and they had a graphic went up there and they’ve had five straight games with 30 assists,” Brey said. “Why can’t we get 20? We’ve went back-to-back with 20 assists. They’ve really hung their hats on that. It’s beautiful to watch because we are playing a lot of guys and they really don’t get out of character.”

The Irish return to the court Nov. 21 in Brooklyn to take on Colorado as part of the 2016 Legends Classic.

Mike Brey Post-Game

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