Burton and Certa Lead Notre Dame to Season-Opening Wire-to-Wire Victory; Defeats LIU 89-67
- Brenden Duffy
- 11 hours ago
- 3 min read
Photo via Notre Dame Athletics
Notre Dame Men’s Basketball kicked off year three of the Micah Shrewsberry era with an 89-67 win over the LIU Sharks in Purcell Pavilion. Markus Burton and Cole Certa combined for 46 points in a game where the Irish shot over 50% from three and never trailed.Â
The Irish controlled the first half from the tip with Burton and Certa each scoring 11 points. Certa, who started on the bench, nailed three of his four three-point attempts in ten minutes played. NAU Transfer Carson Towt made his impact felt on the glass with 12 first-half rebounds, including five on the offensive end. Defensively, five different Irish players were able to record a steal as they held LIU to 25 first-half points.
Top Freshman Jalen Haralson kicked off the scoring with his first career points on a two-point jumper. Haralson and Burton pushed the Irish out to an early 10-2 lead under four minutes into the game. Then, Garrett Sundra and Certa poured in threes to extend the Notre Dame lead to 16 with over 14 minutes on the clock. After some back-and-forth, LIU went on a 12-4 run led by Jamal Fuller to cut their deficit to nine, 32-23, with 3:23 remaining in the half. A Burton layup and Sir Mohammed free throw put the Irish up 40-25 at the break.
Early foul trouble led to a higher-scoring, but tighter, second half as the Irish outscored LIU by just seven. Freshman Ryder Frost lit it up in the second half, shooting 4-4 from three as part of a 15-point outburst. Burton added 13 while Certa contributed another 11 points as Notre Dame managed to keep LIU away from legitimate striking distance. Towt added another seven rebounds in the half, bringing his game total to 19, the most by an Irish player since John Mooney in 2020.Â
Notre Dame began the second half on an early 9-4 run, led by Burton, who hit a three to extend their lead to 21 under four minutes into the half. LIU responded with an 8-3 run of their own, led by Shadrak Lasu, to cut the Irish lead to 15 with 13:28 to play. Certa and Frost then got hot from deep, piling in threes to put the Irish up 67-46 with under ten minutes remaining. LIU was not done, though, as a 10-3 Sharks run cut the lead to 13 with just over six minutes to play. The Irish were able to bounce back again and extend their lead back to 19 thanks to a Certa three-pointer and Burton and-one jumper. Notre Dame closed the final 3:12 on a 10-2 run to secure their season-opening 89-67 victory.
Up next, Notre Dame hosts Detroit Mercy on Friday evening.
Irish Stars:
Markus Burton - 24 points (7-13 FGs, 2-4 3FGs, 8-9 FTs), +23, 27 minutes played
Cole Certa - 22 points (6-10 FGs, 6-9 3FGs, 4-4 FTs), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, +13, 25 minutes played
Carson Towt - 19 rebounds (6 offensive), 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, +24, 28 minutes played
Team Stats Comparison:
Field Goal Percentage: ND 49% - LIU 38%
Three Point Percentage: ND 52% - LIU 33%
Rebounds: ND 45 - LIU 31
Second Chance Points: ND 21 - LIU 12
Bench Points: ND 52 - LIU 19
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