Youngstown State falls at Notre Dame, 88-81
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SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Youngstown State gave Notre Dame everything it could handle, but the experienced Irish simply had the answers.
The Penguins suffered their first loss of the season Sunday, an 88-81 decision to Notre Dame at the Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center on Notre Dame's campus.
"I thought it was a battle out there," said YSU coach Jerrod Calhoun. "I'm certainly proud of our effort -- lots of good things, a lot of positive things from this. It was the first time our group got a chance to play against a Power 5 opponent. I certainly think we had our chances, just missed a few shots at critical times. But I don't fault our effort, and you have to give Notre Dame credit. They were very, very balanced."
Paced by Adrian Nelson, Youngstown State (2-1) showed it was capable of hanging around early, never trailing by more than three possessions in the first half.
Nelson posted 16 points and eight rebounds in the first half alone, a few of which came on second-chance opportunities. He finished the game with a career-high 27 points and 10 rebounds.
"I know that I put a lot of work in the weight room, so I know that most games I'm going to have the advantage (down low) for the most part," Nelson said. "So there's no need for me to settle (for bad shots), and I was just taking advantage of the mismatches down low."
Second-chance buckets also were vital for the Penguins early, as they scored 11 points off those opportunities before the intermission.
But after trimming an early deficit to 32-30 with 6:03 to go in the half, the Penguins couldn't get over the hump entirely. Notre Dame (2-0) answered with a 9-2 spurt, capped by a JJ Starling 3-pointer to push its advantage out to 41-32 before eventually taking a 43-36 lead into halftime.
The Irish capitalized on numerous YSU mistakes, scoring nine points off turnovers before half. The Penguins didn't score any points off turnovers in that stretch.
In the second half, YSU was able to close the gap a number of times, but never quite got over the hump.
The Penguins began the second half with a quick 5-0 spurt to cut the Irish advantage to 43-41 before Dane Goodwin converted an and-1 to get Notre Dame back out to a 51-43 lead two possessions later.
After Shemar Rathan-Mayes hit a layup for YSU, the Irish scored on a layup and dunk by Ven-Allen Lubin to secure their largest lead of the night at 10 points.
The Penguins responded, however, and twice cut the Notre Dame advantage to as low as one point. But in each of those situations, an Irish guard would come up with a critical shot to maintain the lead and stem YSU's runs.
"It's always frustrating when you don't win a game, but winning on the road is hard whether you're in the (Atlantic Coast Conference) or the Horizon League," Calhoun said. "I think you're seeing more and more low- to mid-major teams compete against these Power 5s. ... I think our guys are disappointed, but I like our guys and I like our team."
And as Calhoun mentioned, the Irish did it with balance. Five Notre Dame players scored in double figures, and a sixth had nine points. Goodwin led with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Nate Laszewski had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
For YSU, Dwayne Cohill also finished in double figures with 18 points and added six assists. Brandon Rush added nine points, and the Penguins shot a respectable 33-of-65 (50.8 percent).
But the Irish managed a 33-for-55 day on efficient play.
"(YSU is) really gifted offensively," said Notre Dame coach Mike Brey. "I thought we'd have to score to escape."
And that the Irish did. JJ Starling sank a pair of late 3-pointers for Notre Dame to keep the Irish in front at least two scores, and finished with 17 points, which included a 3-for-4 day from deep.
After another Wertz layup, the Penguins began fouling, but Notre Dame capitalized from the stripe to maintain its victory.
Youngstown State returns home Tuesday to host Grace Christian, which competes in the NCCAA. Tipoff is slated for 11 a.m.
jwhetzel@tribtoday.com