Marcus Hammond totaled 15 points, three rebounds and three assists to lead host Notre Dame to a 59-43 victory over Jacksonville on Tuesday night in South Bend, Ind.
In its final non-conference game, Notre Dame (8-5) had to overcome a poor offensive first half to snap a three-game losing streak before jumping into Atlantic Coast Conference play Friday against No. 14 Miami.
The Fighting Irish, who entered the game averaging 10.2 three-pointers per game, missed their first 12 attempts from that range and shot 29 percent (9 for 31) from the field on their way to a 21-19 lead at halftime. JJ Starling and Cormac Ryan each went 0 for 5 from the field in the first half and didn’t score.
Jacksonville (7-4) wasn’t much better though despite jumping out to a 14-7 lead after nearly nine minutes of play. The Dolphins shot 29.6 percent (8 for 27) and 3 for 9 from 3-point range in the first half.
Ryan finished with only six points on 2-of-9 shooting, but Starling bounced back with a strong second half and finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
Dane Goodwin had 12 points and hit Notre Dame’s first triple with under five minutes left in the first half.
The Irish shot 5 for 11 from 3 and 51.6 percent overall in the second half.
Notre Dame won despite scoring under 60 points for the first time since Jan. 3, 2018.
A three-pointer by Kevion Nolan gave Jacksonville a 34-30 lead with 13:33 left in the second half, but Hammond answered 21 seconds later with a 3-pointer, and that led to Ryan’s first bucket followed by a free throw.
Notre Dame would use a 9-0 run to break a 36-all tie and would not trail again.
Defensively, the Fighting Irish did a solid job on Nolan, holding Jacksonville’s leading scorer (14.3 ppg) to nine points on 3-for-14 shooting.
Gyasi Powell led the Dolphins with 12 points while Omar Payne finished with 10 points and nine rebounds. Nolan also had nine rebounds.
–Field Level Media