VJ Beachem led the Irish with 18 points in Tuesday’s exhibition contest against Mercy College. Evan J. Thomas/The Pit
The unofficial start to the 2016-17 college basketball season couldn’t have gone any better for Notre Dame.
Hosting Mercy College in exhibition action, the Fighting Irish trounced the Mavericks 119-58, with that deficit being as high as 64 at one point. Six Irish players reached double digits in scoring, led by senior forward V.J. Beachem with 18.
Matt Farrell also posted the teams first double-double with 14 points and 10 assists. Every member of this year’s Notre Dame squad scored in Tuesday night’s game.
“Our culture of passing was on display,” Irish Head Coach Mike Brey said post-game. “Certainly we have shot making ability again from a lot of different spots but I just love the unselfishness. When we can get 26 assists, I don’t care who you’re playing, that shows you’re making the extra pass and our big guys can pass.”
Notre Dame had a few bad passes that were either overthrown, missed their target or were picked off coupled with a few bad fouls, but nothing really went wrong for the Irish. One major contributing factor was the play of the Irish freshmen, notable TJ Gibbs.
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound guard from Scotch Plains, New Jersey finished with 16 points and shot perfectly on all accounts. Gibbs finished 4-for-4 with 6 points coming from beyond the arc and an additional six points at the line. He also tallied 7 assists.
“I think he’s going to miss a shot every now and then, but he’s such a competitor.” Brey said. “I love the energy he brings off the bench.”
Gibbs said after the game he hopes to become a presence on the team and help the veteran guys out as much as he can. Critiquing himself, Gibbs said he shot the ball well but has to drive into the lane better than he did.
“I hope to bring energy and move the ball,” Gibbs said. “Just do my part, do what I can do and not do anything I can’t.”
Notre Dame will host Catholic in the final exhibition game Monday at Purcell Pavillion with a 7 p.m. EST tipoff time. The regular season begins November 12 when the Irish host Bryant.
