Year two of the Micah Shrewsberry era got underway Wednesday night at Purcell Pavilion, as the Notre Dame men’s basketball team welcomed fellow Congregation of Holy Cross institution Stonehill to South Bend for the 2024-25 season opener.
The Skyhawks came to South Bend looking to start the young campaign 2-0, following their 81-62 victory over DIII Framingham State on Monday.
Expectations for the Irish are high entering the 2024-25 season. The team returned nearly 86% of its scoring from last year’s 13-20 season, a level of continuity rarely seen in college hoops anymore. Shrewsberry and staff reeled in a talented class of newcomers to complement the returning core, but reigning ACC freshman of the year Markus Burton will still shoulder much of the load for this edition of Irish hoops. The sophomore guard from Mishawaka Penn High School was selected to the preseason all-ACC first team on the heels of his 17.5 points per game in 2023-24.
Donning the traditional home white threads, the Irish started hot on both ends of the floor, taking an early 29-16 lead at the under-12 media timeout. The defense, which ranked third in the ACC allowing just over 67 points per game last year, remained stingy, while the improved pace offensively was also evident. Speaking with the media postgame, Coach Shrewsberry said, “I thought we were jittery to start, but our pace improved as the game went on. These guys have been itching to play again since last Wednesday.”
Senior guard J.R. Konieczny provided a spark when he subbed in early off the Irish bench. The South Bend St. Joseph High School product connected on a baseline drive and a wing three on back-to-back possessions to push the Irish lead to seven following an early Micah Shrewsberry timeout.
It was a three-point barrage after that as consecutive triples from Lehigh transfer forward Burke Chebuhar and sophomore guard Braeden Shrewsberry capped off a 10-0 Irish run, prompting Stonehill head coach Chris Kraus to call a timeout. Princeton transfer guard Matt Allocco and sophomore guard Logan Imes also connected from beyond the arc late in the opening half. All told, Notre Dame connected on seven of their twelve three-point attempts in the first half, a welcome sign of improvement for a group that shot 31.8% a year ago, which was third-worst in the ACC.
Led by ten points from Shrewsberry and nine from Burton, the Irish took a 46-29 lead into the intermission. The 17-point halftime edge matched the Irish’s largest a year ago, when they led Virginia 41-24 at the break on Dec. 30.
Despite his inefficient shooting in the first half, Burton was able to make good on three of his first six attempts coming out of the locker room, helping the Irish balloon the lead to 27 points.
The large lead allowed Shrewsberry to distribute minutes to thirteen different Irish players, eleven of which scored. The Irish depth and defensive scheme managed to hold Stonehill’s dynamic duo of Josh Morgan and Todd Brogna to a combined 24 points on four of twelve shooting from the field. The two prolific Skyhawk scorers had teamed up to tally over half on Stonehill’s points on Monday.
Wednesday night also witnessed the much-anticipated debuts of talented freshmen Sir Mohammed, Cole Certa and Garrett Sundra. Mohammed scored five points and added six rebounds in his seventeen minutes of action, while Sundra’s first career bucket put the finishing touches on Notre Dame’s 89-60 win. Shrewsberry touted Mohammed’s development and work ethic, saying, “He’s a pleaser. He wants to do so well. He was a little jittery too, but he’s gotten so much stronger over the summer and he really knows the game.”
Notre Dame dominated on the glass, out-rebounding Stonehill 50-23. It was the first time under Shrewsberry that Notre Dame had recorded 50 or more rebounds. Additionally, it was the first time Notre Dame had doubled its opponent’s rebounding total since a 34-15 advantage against Bellarmine back in December of 2020.
Burton and Shrewsberry scored 18 points each in what is now the largest Notre Dame victory of the Shrewsberry era. As a whole, the Irish shot over 50% from the floor, converted on 16 of 22 free throw attempts and knocked down 11 shots from beyond the arc. Junior forward Kebba Njie added nine points on four for five shooting and totaled 10 rebounds in his nineteen minutes. Speaking to the media postgame, Njie cited his offseason development, saying, “I’ve worked on my body in the offseason, and I just try to play with a high motor every time I touch the floor.” He continued by saying, “I just have to make the most of my touches in the low post.”
Shrewsberry concluded his press conference by highlighting the importance of winning, saying, “I’m not satisfied with how we played. I definitely think that there is tons of progress to be made, but the main takeaway is that winning is hard. You get to the tournament by taking care of these games, and by beating prominent teams in league play.”
After falling behind by as many as 12 in last year’s season opener against Niagara, the Irish never trailed after an early 2-0 deficit on Wednesday night. The victory moved Notre Dame to 3-0 all-time against the Skyhawks.
The Irish will return to action next Monday night to play host to the Buffalo Bulls of the Mid-American Conference. Monday’s tilt is set for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off inside Purcell Pavilion and can be streamed on ACC Network Extra.
