No college basketball coach can be completely comfortable watching an early 17-point turn to basically dust in a matter of less than eight minutes.
But for Irish top man Mike Brey, to have his team handle the “uh-oh” moment and get out of Purcell Pavilion with a 74-64 win over a pesky Marshall team almost made this difficult win even more satisfying.
“I never thought it was going to be easy against those guys,” Brey said of a Marshall team that last season won 24-games and the CollegeRPI.com postseason tournament.
Notre Dame used 6-of-8 overall shooting and 3-of-3 three-pointers to build a quick 25-8 lead only eight minutes into the game.
Irish senior forward John Mooney was key in that run, and every run for Notre Dame on the night, finishing with a career-high 28 points and adding 16 rebounds for his third straight double-double.
“Johnny was superhuman, obviously,” Brey said afterward.
Brey admitted that this game had a similar feel — though a better outcome — to last November when his youthful Irish were upset at home 63-60 by Radford in a game that set the tone a 14-19 season.
Marshall got to within three points twice in the second half, the last time being at 51-48 with 10 minutes to go.
“I’m having a little bit of a flashback,” Brey admitted. “Will we be mentally tough enough to figure out how to get over the hump?”
Senior guard T.J. Gibbs added 15 points and sophomore guard Dane Goodwin had 11 points to round out the only three Irish in double figures after enjoying balanced scoring in its last two games and blowout wins.
Beyond Mooney, Gibbs and Goodwin, no other Irish player scored more than eight points.
That Marshall got back into the game was the bad news, what Notre Dame learned from responding and winning is the positive takeaway.
The Irish never trailed but nothing was ever certain after that early lead.
“Those are the best games,” said Gibbs, who started hot but finished only 4-of-19 shooting. “Those are the games you thrive in. Those are the games your blood gets pumping.”
Game Of Runs
Jumping out to the early 25-8 early lead marked the first time this season the Irish have enjoyed a quick start.
Not to be outdone, Marshall responded with a 19-6 run of its own to get back into the game, before Notre Dame enjoyed a 14-5 run late in the first half and early in the second to take control again.
Marshall made its final push with a 12-2 spurt that brought the Thundering Herd within 49-46 before Notre Dame closed the game on a 25-18 run to seal the deal.
“We had a good start, we were flowing, we were hitting shots,” Mooney said. “We slowed down a little bit and they started making some shots. But the thing about this is you gotta regroup, get your guys together. It’s a game of runs sometimes.”
Show Me The Mooney
After a disappointing start to his regular season during a 76-65 loss to North Carolina, Mooney has played like a first-team all-American in each of his last three games, recording double-doubles in each.
Following his 18-point, 16-rebound effort Tuesday against Howard, Mooney put 28 points and 16 rebounds up against Marshall — the fourth and fifth 15-plus-scoring and 15-plus-rebounding performances of Mooney’s career.
Missing Pieces
Brey has celebrated the work that his bench provided the last two games, but against Marshall, his subs added only 13 points, though they did provide 16 rebounds.
The usually reliable sophomore guard Robby Carmody only played one minute with one made free throw.
Goodwin was solid with his 11 points and seven rebounds.
“We need more energy off that bench,” Brey said, adding that Carmody was a little “dinged” but should be fine moving forward.
*Up Next
Presbyterien University out of Clinton, S.C., pays a visit Monday to the Joyce Center (7 p.m.), a member of the Big South Conference, the Blue Hose — maybe the best nickname ever — went 20-16 last season.
The team name comes from the socks worn by the football in the early days of the twentieth century.
Presbyterien and Notre Dame played eight games against three common opponents last season.
The Irish lost 63-60 to Radford, lost 65-62 to UCLA, and beat Jacksonville 100-74.
Presbyterien lost 80-65 to UCLA, split two games with Jacksonville (a 94-88 loss and a 72-67 win), and lost two games to Radford, 79-77 and 84-76.
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