By By ADAM FISHER / Niles Daily Star
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Notre Dame faced Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne for the first time ever in men's basketball Tuesday night. After the 73-45 hurting the Irish put on the Mastadons, they might be hoping it's also the last time they ever play.
Notre Dame improved to 2-0 early in the season by outshooting and outrebounding IPFW. The Irish shot 50 pecent from the floor (26-of-52) and held a 39-26 rebounding advantage.
It was what Notre Dame needed after being outrebounded 41-35 by a smaller Harvard team in winning its first game of the season on Friday.
The Irish were able to shoot so well because they shot high-percentage shots. They were able to muscle the ball inside at will against IPFW, who had no answer for Notre Dame's 6-9 senior Dennis Latimore and 6-11 junior Torin Francis.
Latimore tied his career-high with 12 points and Francis scored 11, as four Irish scored in double figures. Latimore also grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds.
Notre Dame was led by guard Chris Quinn for the second game in a row. He scored a game-high 15 points, including three 3-pointers. His performance comes one game after hitting for 20 against Harvard.
As expected, the Irish got off to a fast start against the Mastadons. A 12-0 run to start the game gave Notre Dame a double-digit lead it would not lose. IPFW didn't score its first points until almost seven minutes had elapsed in the first half.
The Irish built an 18-point lead late in the first half before hitting a dry spell. After falling behind 27-9, the Mastadons went on a 9-3 run that pulled them to within 12, 30-18, at halftime.
Coming out of the locker room for the second half, IPFW continued to try and grab momentum. The Mastadons hit four of their first five shots to start the half and knocked Notre Dame's lead down to 11 on a Byron Malone 3-pointer two minutes into the half.
It was the closest the Mastadons had been to the Irish since Notre Dame held a 10-0 lead four minutes into the game.
Notre Dame picked up its defensive intensity, however, following the mini-run, ensuring IPFW would not get within single digits. After the quick start, the Mastadons hit just 6-of-23 field goals the rest of the half.
For the game, IPFW hit 18-of-51 shots for 35 percent, including 7-of-21 from 3-point range.
The Irish, meanwhile, were nearly as hot from behind the 3-point line as they were inside of it. Notre Dame hit 7-of-16 from long range, including three a piece from Quinn and Colin Falls.
Notre Dame's Chris Thomas didn't score much, but made sure his teammates did. He has more assists (11) than points (10).
The Mastadons' leading scorer was guard Beau Bauer with 12 points. He was IPFW's only player to reach double figures. No Mastadon had more than five rebounds.
Notre Dame takes on Charleston Southern at home Friday night.
Notre Dame…….73
IPFW………………45
IPFW (45) - Justin Hawkins 2-4 0-0 4, Quintin Butler 2-6 0-0 4, Byron Malone 3-9 0-0 9, Quintin Carouthers 0-6 0-2 0, Beau Bauer 4-12 2-2 12, Eric Mutzfeld 0-0 0-0 0, Andrew Bourne 0-0 0-0 0, Jason Malone 1-3 0-0 3, Peter Campbell 4-7 0-0 9, Charles Campbell 2-4 0-1 4, Zeljko Egeric 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 18-51 2-5 45
Notre Dame (73) - Jordan Cornette 1-4 1-2 4, Torin Francis 4-9 35 11, Dennis Latimore 6-11 0-0 12, Chris Thomas 3-8 4-4 10, Chris Quinn 5-7 2-3 15, Omari Isreal 1-2 0-0 2, Rick Cornett 1-3 4-6 6, Colin Falls 3-4 0-0 9, Ben Nickol 0-1 0-0 0, Rob Kurz 1-1 0-0 2, Russell Carter 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 26-52 14-20 73.
3-pointers - IPFW 7-21 (B. Malone 3-5, Bauer 2-7, P. Campbell 1-4, J. Malone 1-2, Hawkins 0-1, Carouthers 0-2); Notre Dame 7-16 (Quinn 34, Falls 3-4, Cornette 1-4, Thomas 0-2, Mickol 0-1, Carter 0-1). Rebounds - IPFW 26 (Butler 5, C. Campbell 5); Notre Dame 39 (Latimore 11). Fouls (fouled out) - IPFW 16 (none); Notre Dame 12 (none).
. Records - IPFW 1-2; Notre Dame 2-0.