It certainly wasn’t as pretty as Mike Brey would have liked it, but the Irish head coach will gladly take his team’s 80-67 victory over Mississippi Valley State on Saturday.
Without their captain Tim Abromaitis, it was the Eric Atkins show for the Irish. The sophomore point guard and leader of the offense, had a career-high 27 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field and made all 12 of his shots from the three-throw line. Atkins also added six assists and four rebounds in 37 minutes of playing time.
Scott Martin had a nice night as well for Notre Dame. The senior forward had 15 points and five boards, but struggled shooting from the field missing eight of his 14 total shots. Jerian Grant, who saw his first collegiate action, chipped in with 11 points, five dishes and a couple of rebounds.
Notre Dame got some good play from their role players and reserves as well. Joey Brooks had nine points, four rebounds and three assists. Alex Dragicevich had seven points and four boards backing up Atkins and also seeing time at the two-guard position. Jack Cooley had 10 rebounds, which should become common place throughout the season.
Next up for the Irish will be Detroit at home on Monday evening. The Titans won their opening game against Lake Erie on Friday night.