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Notre Dame men’s hoops defeats Cal State Northridge 68-52 in season opener

Irish head coach Mike Brey celebrated throughout the preseason the immediate impact and rotational ascent his star freshman Blake Wesley was demonstrating.

Wesley made the high praise look well warranted Saturday in the season opener for the Irish, scoring a team-high 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting in 24 minutes off the bench in a 68-52 win over Cal State Northridge at Purcell Pavilion.

Wesley’s play and spark off the bench was especially critical in the first half.

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball forward Paul Atkinson Jr.
Graduate student forward Paul Atkinson Jr. scored 16 points and pulled down six rebounds in his Fighting Irish debut. (Courtesy Notre Dame)

With Notre Dame struggling offensively and leading only 24-21 against an opponent picked to finish last this season in the Big West Conference, Wesley scored eight straight points to give the Irish a 32-26 lead at the break.

Thanks to the solid interior play from Irish graduate student forward Paul Atkinson Jr. in the second half, Notre Dame managed a methodical 25-11 run that helped it build a 57-37 lead that was never threatened. Atkinson finished with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting and pulled down six rebounds.

Senior guard Dane Goodwin also played well in the Notre Dame backcourt, finishing with 18 points on 6-of-8 three-point shooting.

It’s fortunate that Wesley and Goodwin found their long-range shooting touch because no other Irish player did. Those two combined for 10 of 14 shooting threes while their teammates went 1 of 13.

Up next: Notre Dame plays at home again on Tuesday when it hosts High Point University before heading to Las Vegas next week for the relocated Maui Invitational. High Point went 9-15 last season.

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