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Matt Ryan Returns As Notre Dame Wins Second Exhibition

Ryan, who is expected to be a key bench player for the Irish, scored six points in 14 minutes of action during Notre Dame’s 103-48 win over Catholic.
Ryan, who is expected to be a key bench player for the Irish, scored six points in 14 minutes of action during Notre Dame’s 103-48 win over Catholic. (Joe Raymond)

Notre Dame won its second and final exhibition game of the 2016-17 season Tuesday, beating Division III Catholic 103-48.

Here’s the main takeaways from the Irish victory:

Ryan Returns

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Sophomore wing Matt Ryan returned to the rotation after missing the team’s first exhibition game against Mercy.

The 6-7, 228-pounder suffered a stress reaction in his right foot during the preseason and has been rehabbing to get back to full health.

Ryan played 14 minutes against Catholic and finished with six points on 2-of-6 shooting. He entered the game for the first time at the 13:16 mark of the first half.

“He’s been moving good the last three days in practice, we’ve just got to get his conditioning up,” Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey said. “It’s an amazing weapon what he can do out there [shooting the ball], but he does other things, too.

“He passes, he cuts, he’s rebounded for us. We’re going to need him and I love the fact that he’s healthy and we’ve got some time to get him in shape.”

Ryan, who was Mr. Basketball in New York as a high school senior at Iona Prep, has a reputation as a sharpshooter. He will likely get his minutes this season coming off the bench behind seniors Steve Vasturia and V.J. Beachem on the wing.

Ryan said in July that he added nine pounds to his frame, hoping to build on his rookie year in which he averaged 5.1 points and 1.7 rebounds while logging 14.5 minutes per game.

“Matt being back out there for us is great, the way he shoots the ball, his toughness is great,” Beachem said. “The way he shoots it allows us to space the floor even more.”

Vasturia spoke about what Ryan's presence brings to the offense.

“Obviously Matt kind of had a tough injury and tough time, but it’s great to have him back,” Vasturia said. “He’s a great weapon for us … it was good for him to be able to play a game before the actual season starts and he kind of picked up right where he left off.

“He’s able to stretch the floor. He’s obviously a great three-point shooter. Probably one of the better ones around. Tonight he knocked down some shots and he does a great job moving without the ball and understanding how to play in this offense. It’s great to have him back and he’s definitely going to help us this year.”

Irish Unselfish Again

“When we can keep it to one-and-done and get out and run, we’re a lot of fun to watch,” Brey said. “We really know how to play.”

After a 26-assist effort against Mercy, Notre Dame again had a great passing effort in a game versus an inferior opponent.

The Irish assisted on 28 of their 39 made baskets versus Catholic and finished with just eight turnovers.

“You could lock a team in a gym playing five on zero and they couldn’t do that over 40 minutes,” Brey said. “It’s really, and I saw it this summer, it’s part of our culture.

“We’re really proud of it, and it’s really a fun way to play and our guys have come into it and absorbed it and learned from the older guys.”

Notre Dame made 9 of 18 three-point attempts in the first half to build a 61-21 halftime lead. Junior forward Bonzie Colson and sophomore wing Rex Pflueger each had two, while Vasturia had three in the first half.

For the game, the Irish connected on 11 of 30 attempts, led by Vasturia going 3 of 5. Beachem, Colson, Pflueger and Ryan also made multiple threes.

“Both of these [exhibition] games, we’ve been getting a lot of open looks, just the way we’ve been sharing the ball,” Beachem said. “Hopefully that’s something that we can keep up all season long.”

Final Stats

Torres Leaves Game

Notre Dame reserve forward Austin Torres was taken to the hospital for precautionary measures because he had trouble catching his breath. He left the court about midway through the first half and did not return.

Brey said Torres’ heart rate “revved a little.” It calmed down, and Notre Dame was cautious with the situation. Torres, Brey said, has no history with heart issues. The 17th-year head coach said he’ll get an update Tuesday.

The Irish practice with heart monitors, but don’t wear them during games. Torres’ pulse gets higher quicker than any player on the team, meaning he has to play short, quick bursts of minutes, Brey said.

Torres played just three minutes against Catholic.

Torres, a local product out of Granger, Ind., saw action in 15 of Notre Dame’s 18 ACC games last season. He averaged 4.4 minutes per game and scored 24 points the entire season.

He’s expected to see minutes off the bench this year behind junior starters Martinas Geben and Colson.

Odds & Ends

• Notre Dame opens the regular season Saturday at noon against Bryant.

• After going a perfect 6 of 6 from the field in his exhibition debut last week against Mercy, freshman point guard T.J. Gibbs finished with three points in 16 minutes against Catholic.

• Freshman guard Nikola Djogo subbed in at the 3:39 mark of the second half. He finished with six points in four minutes. Brey said Djogo will redshirt this season, a decision made last week.

• Geben played 18 minutes and finished with 11 points and seven rebounds.

“These two games were important for Martin,” Brey said. “He hadn’t played, so to start and get out there with the veteran guys and fly around a bit, to have some success — doesn’t matter who it’s against, he needs to feel good about himself going into Saturday, and we achieved that.”

Notre Dame walk-ons Matt Gregory and Patrick Mazza both played at the end of the game.

• Brey will hold a press conference Wednesday at 2:45 p.m. for the early signing period. The Irish are expected to sign verbal commit D.J. Harvey.

Mike Brey Post-Game Video

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