Freshman Blake Wesley came off the bench to score 21 points and Dane Goodwin added 18 to lead Notre Dame to a season-opening 68-52 victory over visiting Cal State Northridge in a nonconference game on Saturday in South Bend, Ind.
Notre Dame’s Paul Atkinson recorded 16 points and six rebounds, while Nate Laszewski added four points and a game-high eight rebounds. Prentiss Hubb had a game-high six assists for the Fighting Irish, who had little trouble against the Matadors (0-2).
Atin Wright scored all of his team-high 12 points in the first half for Cal State Northridge, which fell behind early and did not recovered. Wright finished the game 4-for-6 from 3-point range.
Notre Dame shot 49.0 percent from the floor, including 40.7 percent from beyond the arc. The Fighting Irish outrebounded the Matadors 30-26 and forced 12 turnovers that they turned into 16 points.
Cal State Northridge also received nine points apiece from Darius Brown and Onyi Eyisi, with Fidelis Okereke adding six points and a team-high seven rebounds. The Matadors shot 43.8 percent from the field but were more effective from long range, making six of their 12 3-point attempts.
After Miles Brookins’ jumper pulled the Matadors to within 34-30 just 1:20 into the second half, Notre Dame countered by going on a 23-7 run. Wesley capped the surge with a dunk that gave the Fighting Irish a 57-37 lead with just under seven minutes remaining.
Wesley scored 13 points in the first half on 4-of-5 shooting, including a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, to help power the Irish to a 32-26 lead at intermission. Notre Dame struggled offensively, shooting 39.3 percent from the floor and 6-for-16 on 3-pointers.
Wright kept Matadors in the game by scoring 12 points by making four 3-pointers on five attempts in the first half. No other Matador scored more than four first-half points, as the team shot 10-for-25 from the floor, turned the ball over eight times and was outrebounded 18-15.
–Field Level Media
