Demetrius Jackson jams home a dunk against Stony Brook Tuesday night. Evan J. Thomas/The Pit
[dropcap]Z[/dropcap]ach Auguste and Demetrius Jackson each posted double-doubles Tuesday night at Purcell Pavilion as Notre Dame powered past a feisty Stony Brook offense, 86-61.
Auguste led all scorers with 23 points and pulling down 11 rebounds while Jackson notched 19 points and a career-high 10 assists.
But despite the success, it wasn’t all easy going for the Irish (6-2). Stony Brook (4-3) gave Notre Dame all sorts of trouble in the first half. Notre Dame had an 11-point margin over the Seawolves eight minutes through the opening half before the opposition held Notre Dame scoreless for 4:33.
Jameel Warney’s free throw at the 7:21 mark brought the Seawolves within one.
“I thought Zach was really looking forward to the matchup the past few days,” Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Brey said. “There’s a buzz about Stony Brook’s big man (Jameel Warney), and Zach said, ‘Wait a minute, I’ve played against some good big guys.’ In the first half, he never really let [Warney] get comfortable.”
Notre Dame entered the second half with a 40-32 advantage.
Warney brought the Seawolves within striking distance again a few minutes into the second half, but a free throw by Auguste followed by a pair of back-to-back three’s from VJ Beachem sent the Irish on a tear.
“Although we had a slow start to the second half, we paid really good attention to detail, was sharp, stepped on them and broke the lead open,” Jackson said.
The Irish developed a 25-3 run over the next 9:28 that gave the Irish a 25-point cushion.
Brey credits the second half surge to Jackson’s leadership on the floor, comparing his ability to Jerian Grant’s ability to run the building.
“The guys respect him, and he’s learned when to be a diplomat and when to get on his teammates. He wants it so bad for his team. He’s really pure, and just wants it for his team,” Brey said.
Notre Dame hosts Loyola Chicago Sunday with a 2pm tipoff time.
