• Box Score
The Notre Dame players and coaches all pointed at three teams in November and December that they believed would be the most challenging on the non-conference schedule.
Northwestern and UCLA are up the line, but the first of the trio paid a visit to Purcell Pavilion Thursday when Long Beach State rolled into town with an undefeated record and a chance to make a statement on the road.
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Harangody paced the Irish with 29 points in the win.
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The Irish coaches obviously did their proper scouting because the game lived up to its billing as a terrific pre-conference test against the team that is predicted to win the Big West Conference this season.
Notre Dame couldn’t shake the 49ers in the first half but used a furious start to the second half to secure an 82-62 win and put this important test behind.
“That was a Big East kind of a game with their speed and quickness,” Irish coach Mike Brey said afterward. “They can give you problems with that speed and quickness. That is something to build on. We are trying to get better each time out.”
NCAA Tournament bids aren’t earned in games like these, but they can be lost, and the Irish played with the necessary urgency in the second half to avoid an upset that looked quite possible through the first half when Notre Dame took only a 37-35 advantage into the locker room. The Irish (3-0) outscored Long Beach (2-1) 45-27 in the second half.
“In the second half, we just got down and dirty and did whatever we had to do,” said senior point guard Tory Jackson. “We just locked down defensively, guys being determined and that’s what we need from the beginning. I was very happy with the second half.”
Notre Dame had its hands full right from the opening tip. In just the first half, there were three ties and 12 lead changes, with neither team building a two-point advantage over the last 10 minutes of the half. A dogfight seemed inevitable but it wasn’t to be.
The Irish took control of the game with a 13-2 scoring run to open the second half. The difference was in the defense. The Irish smothered an athletic Long Beach team during the scoring run that gave Notre Dame some breathing room.
Notre Dame struggled to shake the 49ers in the first 20 minutes but whatever the halftime message was, it obviously got the players’ attention because the Irish played arguably the most complete half of basketball this season, shooting 58 percent in the half while holding the 49ers to just 41 percent shooting.
For the third straight game, the Irish received good scoring balance and were willing to share the ball offensively.
Senior guard Tory Jackson scored 13 points. Junior forward Tim Abromaitis and senior guard Ben Hansbrough each had 11 points, and Jonathan Peoples added 10 points.
But of course, when the Irish needed the big baskets, they leaned on their big fella Luke Harangody, and he didn’t disappoint. Harangody scored 12 points in the first half to help the Irish to their slim halftime lead, and he helped Notre Dame finish the 49ers off in the second half with 17 more points.
Harangody finished with a game-high 29 points and also paced the Irish with 12 rebounds. He was 7 of 10 shooting in the second half after going 6 of 13 in the first half.
“Early in the game I thought I had an advantage and I missed a lot of easy shots. I just kind of rushed things,” Harangody said. “The second half I just relaxed a little bit and I was able to put it right in.”
Harangody was solid, but five players in double figures is key.
“I think the balance is real important because we can’t always have Gody out there getting 30 and everybody else getting four,” Peoples said. “We’re going to need that balance to be successful.”
