NDMBB: Irish survive season opener, 79-76

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) - The Fighting Irish men’s basketball team is now 1-0 after winning a close season-opener over Radford on Thursday, 79-76.

Nate Laszewski led the team with 28 points and 12 rebounds, scoring the team’s first nine points as Radford kept pace with the Irish throughout this one.

Head coach Mike Brey went with a six-man rotation in light of an injury to grad transfer guard Marcus Hammond. Trey Wertz, who started in place of Hammond, paced the team well by scoring 18 points and knocking down 4 three-pointers.

Each of Thursday’s starters played upwards of 30 minutes, including freshman JJ Starling who put up 9 points in his college debut. Fellow freshman teammate Ven-Allen Lubin was the sole body off the bench for the Irish in the opener, putting up 6 points in 16 minutes of game action.

The Irish trailed Radford with less than thirty seconds to go before Cormac Ryan hit a go-ahead layup that would put ND ahead 77-76. Laszewski would later hit a pair of free throws to ice it as Notre Dame starts their season in the winning column.

Up next, Notre Dame welcomes Youngstown State on Sunday, with tipoff set for 4 p.m. ET inside Purcell Pavilion.

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