Notre Dame men’s basketball was back in action at Purcell Pavilion on Monday night, as they welcomed the Buffalo Bulls to South Bend for an early-season non-conference matchup of undefeateds.
Buffalo, out of the Mid-American Conference, entered Monday’s contest at 2-0, following an impressive last-second road victory at Old Dominion and a close home triumph over D-III Fredonia. Guided by second-year head coach George Halcovage III, the Bulls are led by Canadian transfer Tyson Dunn, who nearly averaged a triple double through the opening two games of the season.
Head coach Micah Shrewsberry’s group faced high expectations entering his second year at the helm in 2024-25, with over 85% of scoring from last year’s 13-20 team returning. The hallmark of any Shrewsberry team, defense, has been evident in the Irish’s opener against Stonehill, and their charity exhibition against Purdue Fort Wayne, as they held both opponents to 60 points or fewer.
A point of emphasis for the Irish over the offseason was offensive pace, and the Irish have scored 91 and 89 points against the Mastodons and Skyhawks, respectively, after averaging just 67 a year ago.
Again wearing the home white Under Armour jerseys, the Irish took the early advantage thanks in large part to the energetic play on both ends of the floor from junior forward Tae Davis. Davis tallied the first eight Irish points of the game, along with collecting a rebound and a steal all before the first media timeout. Four consecutive stops on the defensive end, including two forced turnovers, led to transition buckets for junior forward Kebba Njie and sophomore guard Markus Burton.
Speaking to the media postgame, Davis said, “My approach was keying in on the gameplan and just hooping. Nothing changed with my mindset, I was just trying to play basketball the right way.”
Aside from a vicious one-handed slam from senior guard J.R. Konieczny, the Irish offense would go cold over the next five minutes, and a 9-0 Buffalo run prompted Micah Shrewsberry to burn a timeout with Buffalo holding a 21-20 edge.
Buffalo took a 37-30 advantage into the final two minutes of the first frame, before the Irish went on an 8-0 run led by the two local products. Konieczny, the South Bend St. Joseph High School grad canned a triple, followed by Burton, the former Mishawaka Penn High School star, converted on a tough layup. The run was punctuated when Burton found Konieczny inside for a tough and-one finish through contact. Burton and Konieczny, along with Davis, led the Irish at the half with 8 points apiece.
“I gotta find a way to get him out there. He’s efficient, and as Clark Kellogg would say, he’s got some ‘spurt-ability.’ He’s been a big key for us,” Coach Shrewsberry said of Konieczny’s play.
Despite the run, it was Buffalo sophomore guard Ryan Sabol, first cousin of Notre Dame starting quarterback Riley Leonard, who stole the show in the first half, as the last of his four threes gave the Bulls the 40-38 lead heading into the intermission. Latvian freshman forward Frederiks Meinarts also connected on both of his three-point attempts in the opening frame. After Wednesday’s three-point barrage, the Irish entered the locker room shooting just 2-12 from beyond the arc.
The Irish came out firing on all cylinders to begin the second half. The lone Buffalo field goal in the first seven minutes of the half was bookended by 7-0 and 17-0 Irish runs. Sophomore guard Braeden Shrewsberry scored 11 early points, including two treys, complemented by five from Burton, courtesy of a smooth and-one triple. Burton also found Njie for a dunk, giving the guard his seventh assist of the game.
“We had some defensive lapses to start the half, and when you’re playing a great team at their place, that’s how you get beat,” Halcovage said postgame.
“Early in the year, you’ve got to be a group that shows some resolve and toughness. We didn’t play our best, and last year, we would have lost this game,” Shrewsberry attested.
After the Irish stretched the lead to 20, Dunn finally stopped the bleeding for Buffalo, before three consecutive three-point makes from freshman forward Ben Michaels pulled the Bulls back within 11 at the under-12 media timeout.
A nearly four-minute field goal drought for Notre Dame saw the lead narrow to 7, before Burton was able to finish at the tin on back-to-back offensive trips, upping his scoring total to 17.
Led by Davis down the stretch, the Irish were able to hold off the Bulls for the 86-77 win, moving them to 2-0 on the young season. While the defense is a cause of concern for Shrewsberry, this is the first time Notre Dame has scored 80 points in back-to-back games during his tenure.
Davis set a new career high with 27 points on 7-13 shooting from the field, while frontcourt mate Kebba Njie was in double figures once again with 12 points. Shrewsberry and Burton led the Irish backcourt, as they both followed up 18-point performances in the opener by scoring 19 points apiece. Despite Burton’s inefficient 8-21 mark from the field, the preseason all-ACC first team selection nearly recorded the first Irish triple double since Chris Thomas in 2001, by adding 9 rebounds and 8 assists to his scoresheet. Both totals are career highs for Burton.
“I struggled a little, but it was fun finding my teammates and getting them open shots. It’s just instincts and playing basketball,” Burton said.
The Irish defense was able to contain Sabol in the second half, as he finished with 18 points to lead Buffalo. Michaels finished with 14 while sophomore guard Bryson Wilson collected a quiet 15 point, 13 rebound double-double. The crowning achievement of the night for Shrewsberry’s defense was holding Dunn to just 9 points on 4/17 shooting, along with forcing 7 turnovers.
Despite his offensive output, Shrewsberry was impressed with how Davis led the charge to stop Dunn. “Tae wanted that challenge, and he slowed down a great player,” Shrewsberry stated.
“You celebrate wins, no matter who you play. I told George, you’re not the 12th-placed team in the MAC [as picked in the preseason], so we learned some valuable lessons in this one. Winning is always better than losing,” Shrewsberry concluded.
The Irish will return to action on Saturday, when they hit the road for the first time to do battle with the Georgetown Hoyas in the nation’s capital. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. and can be seen nationally on NBC leading into Notre Dame football’s 3:30 p.m. clash with Virginia at Notre Dame Stadium.
