Notre Dame ends skid by topping Western Michigan

Field Level Media|published: Tue 5th December, 21:32 2023

Dec 5, 2023; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish guard Markus Burton (3) passes the ball in the first half against the Western Michigan Broncos at the Purcell Pavilion. credits: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Tae Davis scored 19 points to go along with 10 rebounds and Markus Burton added 17 points and six assists as Notre Dame rebounded from a pair of double-digit defeats to earn an 86-65 victory over Western Michigan on Tuesday night at South Bend, Ind.

Braeden Shrewsberry scored 16 points and Julian Roper II had 14 as the Fighting Irish (4-4) moved in front just under four minutes into the game and never trailed from there. Notre Dame's victory came three days after a 62-49 loss to Miami in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams.

The Fighting Irish shot 59.2 percent from the field and 9 of 22 from 3-point range (40.9 percent) after they shot 28.6 percent and 18.8 percent in those respective categories against Miami. Notre Dame turned nine Western Michigan turnovers into 21 points.

Titus Wright finished with 14 points and six rebounds and Seth Hubbard added 13 points for Western Michigan (2-6), which has lost two consecutive games after winning back-to-back contests. The Broncos dropped to 0-3 on the road.

The Fighting Irish looked like they would run away with the game early when they burst out to a 32-17 lead with 6:13 remaining in the first half before the Broncos pulled back within single digits before the break.

Notre Dame found its momentum again to open the second half by going on a 16-4 run, grabbing a 56-38 lead with 13:53 remaining. Roper scored seven points during the run, while Burton added six.

Western Michigan fought back within single digits at 62-53 on a 3-pointer from Hubbard with 8:10 remaining. But a 9-2 spurt by Notre Dame pushed the advantage to 71-55 with 5:21 left, and the Fighting Irish never were threatened the rest of the way.

Notre Dame held a 40-34 lead at halftime. That alone was a bonus for Western Michigan, which trailed 41-14 after 20 minutes in its previous game against St. Thomas and eventually absorbed a 65-51 defeat.

The Broncos shot 41.9 percent in the first half on Tuesday after shooting 27.3 percent in the opening 20 minutes against St. Thomas.

—Field Level Media