National Basketball Association
Notre Dame 85, Wake Forest 62
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, January 31, 2016
Where: Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center, South Bend, Indiana
Officials:
# Tim Clougherty, # Jamie Luckie, # Terry Wymer
Attendance:
9149
By The Sports Xchange
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Zach Auguste scored 21 points, and four other Notre Dame players scored in double figures in the 25th-ranked Irish's 85-62 Atlantic Coast Conference victory over Wake Forest Sunday.
Besides his point production, Auguste, a 6-foot-10 senior power forward, collected 12 rebounds for the Irish (15-6, 6-3 ACC).
Joining Auguste in double digits for Notre Dame were junior forward V.J. Beachem (15 points), junior guard Demetrius Jackson (14), senior forward A.J. Burgett (14) and junior guard Steve Vasturia (10).
Wake Forest (10-11, 1-8) was led by freshman guard Bryant Crawford with 20 points and senior forward Devin Thomas with 19.
The victory allowed Notre Dame to get past the sting of last Thursday's loss to Syracuse and get ready for this week's battles with ACC heavyweights Miami, on the road Wednesday, and North Carolina at home Saturday.
Once the Irish grabbed a 17-point halftime lead, there was no challenging them the rest of the way.
Notre Dame established itself during the game's first 20 minutes. Jackson's turnaround 15-foot jumper at the halftime buzzer gave the Irish a 46-29 advantage. Vasturia led the Notre Dame scoring with 10, and Jackson and Auguste had nine each.
Auguste, who was playing with a newfound fire, had seven boards, an assist and a block in the first half.
Through the first 17 minutes of the game, Wake Forest had just two players who scored -- Crawford and Thomas -- as the Deacons trailed 37-23. Crawford went into the second half with 17 points and Thomas had six.
Burgett breathed new life into the Notre Dame lineup by hitting a 3-pointer and grabbing two rebounds in the first couple minutes of the game. Burgett had six points, a block and four boards to show for his first extended playing time of the season. Burgett, who had played a total of 41 minutes in the 11 games he had appeared in this season, logged 14 in the first half alone.
NOTES: After missing the game against Syracuse last Thursday, Notre Dame G Demetrius Jackson returned to action against Wake Forest Sunday. Jackson went down with a hamstring injury early in the Irish win over Boston College Jan. 23. ... Notre Dame senior F A.J. Burgett, who hadn't started a game since the North Carolina game of his sophomore year, was a surprise starter for the Irish. .. Irish freshman G Rex Pflueger sustained a turned ankle in practice Friday. He was available, but coach Mike Brey didn't put him in the starting lineup. ...Notre Dame will be the center of the college basketball universe Saturday when ESPN's Basketball Gameday will visit campus for the battle with North Carolina. ...Though Wake Forest has struggled through this season, there may be a reason. The Demon Deacons are in the middle of the toughest schedule in the country, according to several rating systems.
Top Game Performances
| Wake Forest |
|
Notre Dame |
|
Bryant Crawford 20 |
Scoring |
Zach Auguste 21 |
|
Devin Thomas 5 |
Assists |
Demetrius Jackson 8 |
|
Devin Thomas 8 |
Rebounds |
Zach Auguste 12 |
|
Devin Thomas 7 |
Free Throws Made |
Zach Auguste 7 |
|
Codi Miller-McIntyre 2 |
Steals |
Demetrius Jackson 6 |
|
Doral Moore 2 |
Blocks |
Zach Auguste 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Wake Forest
|
62 |
44.2 |
4-16 |
12-19 |
13 |
27 |
2 |
8 |
18 |
| Notre Dame
|
85 |
51.7 |
9-26 |
14-18 |
15 |
36 |
4 |
13 |
14 |
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