Hot Shooting by Irish Hurts Eagles in Season Opener
11/13/2010 4:17:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Starting five seniors, Notre Dame shot 86 percent hitting 12 of its first 14 shots to establish a comfortable lead en route to a 98-61 win over Georgia Southern at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center Friday night. Eagle freshman Eric Ferguson (Statesboro, Ga.) led all scorers with 26 points in his collegiate debut. Senior forward Rory Spencer (Atlanta, Ga.) had 18 points and tied Notre Dame forward Carleton Scott for the game-high with seven rebounds. Ben Hansbrough had 20 points for the Irish.
"I think it was an eye opener for our young guys to come in and play a program of this magnitude," said Eagle Head Coach Charlton "C.Y." Young. "This was their first game, we played against guys who were fifth-year seniors and transfers who had more game experience. In the first half it showed. I was very excited about the second half and seeing the intestinal fortitude of our guys, they could've laid down but they fought and got better and we grew. We wanted to throw this team in the crockpot, to get them better for the future, and this experience is definitely going to help us with that."
Georgia Southern kept clawing back in the second half and outscored Notre Dame in the period 38-36, but poor shooting, foul trouble and turnovers in the first half sealed the outcome. Ferguson hit 15 of his total points in the second half, connecting on 4-6 from the floor and adding another seven points from the free throw line.
"He's a special freshman," stated Young, when asked about Ferguson after the game. "Defensively, he has to get better, stronger and attack the paint more. We knew he was a special talent when we signed him and he's a guy that's a building block for this program. For him to be a freshman, and to walk into a Big East situation, and score 26 points in his first game ever, it's impressive."
The Irish built a double-digit lead early in the first half and forced Georgia Southern into 21 percent shooting from the field. Notre Dame cooled off to 60.6 percent shooting for the first half and shot 37 percent after the intermission. The Eagles settled down in the second half, committing only five turnovers and were more patient with their shot selection. The shooting percentage improved to 44 percent in the second half and Georgia Southern took advantage of its trips to the free throw line, converting on 73.7 percent for 14 points.
Ferguson scored the first points of the 2010-11 season off free throws, then followed up with a quick layup. Taking the ball from Hansbrough midway through the half, he flew down the court for the fastbreak layup and then converted the three-point play after a Tim Abromaitis foul. He would add four more free throws in the first half for a perfect 7-7.
Chipping away at the lead, Spencer and Ferguson scored baskets coming out of the half before a scoring drought set the Eagles back again. Freshman guard Jelanie Hewitt (Oakland Park, Fla.) hit a three to break the dry spell, but Notre Dame then went on a 9-2 run to add to its point total. Georgia Southern responded with an 8-2 run, and played evenly the rest of the game.
The Eagles play host to Carver College for their season home opener Monday, November 15th at 7 p.m. Georgia Southern owns a current 26-game win streak in home openers and is 33-3 overall in season home openers dating back to 1980. Single-game tickets are available at the ticket windows at Hanner Fieldhouse one hour prior to tip-off and are $8 for adults and $4 for youth. Fans may also purchase a flex plan - five tickets for $25 - which allows tickets to be used for either men's or women's games. Fans may use all five tickets at one game or split them between games.
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