RTC Live: Sam Houston State @ Notre Dame
Posted by rtmsf on November 16th, 2011
After another exhausting but fun Hoops Marathon, RTC Live is back tonight with a couple of Big East teams taking on motivated mid-majors at home. Notre Dame has struggled a bit without its star forward, Tim Abromaitis, in the lineup, but the Irish have managed to sneak by with a 2-0 record thus far. Join the conversation from South Bend, after the jump.
Game 16: Notre Dame will play host to Sam Houston State in the second game of the South Bend Regional in the CBE Classic. The Irish came from behind to defeat Detroit, 59-53, in the regional’s first game. The Irish were led in scoring by sophomore point guard Eric Atkins and junior swingman Joey Brooks, who each netted 13 points. This will be the third consecutive game that the Irish will be without star senior forward Tim Abromaitis, who is serving an NCAA-imposed four-game suspension. Sam Houston State enters the contest with a 1-0 record after defeating Howard Payne 76-42 on Saturday. Jason Hooten’s Bearkats squad is led by junior guard Konner Tucker and junior forward Steven Werner. Werner led the Bearkats scoring attack on Saturday night with 20 points. While the Bearkats enter the game as a clear underdog, they should provide a tough test for Mike Brey’s Irish.
Recap
Notre Dame cruised to a decisive 74-41 victory over Sam Houston State. Irish freshman guard Pat Connaughton came off the bench to lead all scorers with 24 points. He scored 17 of those 24 in the first half, as he outscored the entire Bearkats squad 17-16 in the first half. The Irish were without senior star forward Tim Abromaitis, who sat out the third game of his NCAA-imposed four-game suspension, and sophomore Eric Atkins, who missed the game due to an illness. Connaughton and sophomore guard Jerian Grant, who had 17 points, picked up the slack for the Irish. Senior forward Marcus James led all Bearkats scorers with 16 points. The Irish will return to the court on Friday when the play host to Delaware State. Sam Houston State will return to the court on Monday when they travel to Mercer.
