BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Notre Dame bounced back from a tough loss on Friday night to leave the Barclays Center with a win. The formula was simple: let the big man lead the way and even carry the team on his back, then get others going to put the game away. Jack Cooley certainly led them with another solid performance, and the Fighting Irish rallied in the second half for a 78-68 win over Brigham Young.
Cooley has been a double-double machine early this season, as he posted his third in the team’s four games on Saturday night with 19 points (7-12 shooting) and 13 rebounds. In fact, he already had one in the first half as he had 12 points and 10 boards at the break, controlling the paint often while BYU’s best big man, Brandon Davies, sat with foul trouble. He was also the one player they were able to get going for a while; the other four starters were a combined 3-10 from the field for nine points in the first half as BYU lead by one at the break.
“Whenever we need a bucket or need to get the offense going, we throw it in to him and he seems to be able to make a play somehow or grab a big rebound,” said Jerian Grant, who bounced back from not only a tough night last night but a rough start in the first three games.
The only game in which Cooley hasn’t posted a double-double, their second of the season against Monmouth, he missed by just one rebound. It’s safe to say he’s picked up right where he left off last season, when he emerged with more of an opportunity after playing behind upperclassmen earlier in his career.
Even in the second half on Saturday night, it took a while before the others really picked it up. The Fighting Irish were still down 49-42 with just over 14 minutes left when they switched to a zone defense, and that helped them start a decisive 12-0 run over the next four minutes to take the lead for good. BYU got within a possession a couple of times, but Notre Dame closed it out with 12 free throws in the final two minutes.
“There’s no question with 14 minutes to go, down seven, that going to zone helped us because we had a hard time guarding them in man-to-man,” said head coach Mike Brey. “This group really does play well together on both sides of the floor. We have been getting more reps at our 2-3 zone and we did a really good job.”
Grant scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half and ended up 6-9 from the field. A night earlier, the junior guard was 4-17 from the field and entered the game 8-29 on the season. Junior Eric Atkins scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half on 4-6 shooting from the field, including a dagger from deep that gave the Irish a 66-61 cushion with just over four minutes left.
“I think yesterday, when I missed shots, I got frustrated and it messed my whole game up,” said Grant. “The guys on the bench and all the coaches just keep telling me to have confidence in myself and stay ready.”
Notre Dame has plenty of talent on the perimeter and can essentially play four guards if they play Scott Martin like one, as they sometimes do. They got a good lift in the first half from Cameron Biedscheid off the bench, and while they only played seven in Brooklyn they might get a little deeper in the rotation before the season is out.
The overtime loss to Saint Joseph’s a night earlier was very difficult for the this team. In the extra session, they went 2-8 from the field, missing their first four shots as the Hawks scored the first five points. Brey admitted that the team wasn’t in good spirits earlier in the day, although they seemed better as the game approached.
“I’m impressed with our maturity because we were in a battle and we were down seven in the second half, and to find a way to get out of here with a win I’m proud of our group,” said Brey.
Cooley is the only senior starter, and he’s been playing like one thus far. He did that on Saturday night to carry the Fighting Irish for a time, and then his teammates got going. Once that happened, they were well on their way to a victory.
