Carleton Scott made a jump shot on Notre Dame’s first possession, and the Irish never relinquished the lead en route to a 83-58 victory.  Ben Hansbrough led the way with 24 points, and Scott Martin added 15.

Freshman guard Brandon Young scored 16 points for DePaul.  Cleveland Melvin, who entered the game with a 21.5 point scoring average in Big East play, was held to just 4 points tonight.

Notre Dame improved its record to 18-4, and its 7-3 conference record is good enough for sole possession of second place in the Big East.

“One of the things we wanted to do was come out and set the tone,” said Hansbrough.

It didn’t look like DePaul having any of that tone through the first 12 minutes.  It was a two point game as late as the 8:00 mark of the half, but the Irish outscored the Blue Demons 15-4 the rest of the way to take a 37-24 lead to halftime.

Despite struggling to score through the middle of the first half, the Irish shot well – 46% from the field and 42% from three point range.  Meanwhile DePaul couldn’t hit.  The Demons made only 31% of their shots on their home court, 23.5% from three point range.  Cleveland Melvin, the #3 scorer in the Big East, had just 2 points at the half.

If there was any concern about DePaul getting back into the game, it was gone by the first TV timeout of the second half.  Tim Abromaitis made a three point basket, Hansbrough made a pair of threes, and Scott added a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 48-29; and the game was essentially over.

“With five minutes to go in the half we had the wheels come off physically and mentally,” said DePaul coach Oliver Purnell.  “We got down double digits at the half and after getting off to a slow start in the second half, they’re in total control.”

Noteworthy

• Four Irish starters scored in double figures.  In addition to Hansbrough and Martin, Abromaitis had 13 and Ty Nash had 10.
• Nash led Notre Dame with 8 rebounds, and Martin had 7.  DePaul won the team rebounding battle 33-31 thanks to 16 offensive boards.
• Abromaitis made 4 of 9 shots and 4 free throws in as many attempts to break a two game scoring slump with 13 points.   “It’s not going to throw me out of my game and force me to do anything I’m not used to doing,” he said before the game. True to his word, Abromaitis let the game come to him.  He took just two shots in the first half, but the opportunities came in the second half as DePaul’s defense focused more and more on Hansbrough.
• Freshman guard Eric Atkins took just three shots tonight.  He made two of them.  The shot might look a little funky, but Atkins is now shooting 49% from the field in Big East games.
• With three assists and no turnovers, Atkins improved his team leading assist/turnover ratio to 2.7 for the season and 2.4 in Big East games.  The former number leads the conference, and the latter puts him in fourth place.
• Tom Knight’s basket with 1:23 to play were the first Big East points of his career.
• With the shot clock approaching zero late in the first half, Ty Nash took his first three point shot of the season… and made it.  The probability of a perfect season from beyond the arc is now substantial.
• After struggling with outside shooting in its first three Big East road games, ND has made 18 of 39 three point shots, 46%, over its last two road games.  The Irish entered the Pitt game making just 25% from long range on the road.
• As is their custom, the Irish assisted on more than 60% of their baskets, 17-27 for 63%.
• After a nine day layoff, Notre Dame has four games, including tonight’s, in 10 days. “I thought the layoff helped us. We got energized,” coach Mike Brey said.

Next

Rutgers (12-10/3-7) will come to the Joyce Center to challenge Notre Dame on Sunday at noon.  It’s a Big East syndication game, so check your local listings and satellite channels to find the broadcast.  We’ll have a game preview for you on Saturday.