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  Saturday, Nov. 25 1:00pm ET
Murphy's 30 points, 6 blocks lead Irish
 
  RECAP | BOX SCORE

INDIANAPOLIS -- Troy Murphy and coach Mike Brey wanted to make a point for Notre Dame's long-struggling basketball program, and it was mission accomplished Saturday afternoon.

Notre Dame's David Graves goes up strong as he gets fouled by Cincinnati's Rod Flowers.

Murphy scored 30 points, blocked six shots and had seven rebounds to lead Notre Dame over Cincinnati 69-51 in the inaugural John Wooden Tradition game.

"It was kind of a program game." Brey said. "Their program is thought of better than ours. For us to earn what we've gotten in the preseason, we have to beat teams like this. It's definitely something to build on in the third game of the season."

Brey has opened his first season coaching the Irish (No. 15 ESPN/USA Today; No. 14 Associated Press) with three victories.

"It does a lot for our program to beat a team like Cincinnati (No. 13 ESPN/USA Today; No. 16 AP). A lot of people said we hadn't really been tested," said Murphy, who decided to return to the Irish this season instead of leaving for the NBA. "It was good to be tested today, and play like we did."

With Notre Dame leading 45-40, Murphy hit a 3-pointer with 9:30 to play, the first of nine consecutive points for the Irish. The run put Notre Dame ahead 54-46 with 6:13 remaining, matching what was its biggest lead of the game at the time.

Kenny Satterfield's 3-pointer, the first in 13 shots from behind the arc by Cincinnati, closed the Bearcats to five points down. But Notre Dame responded with a 3-pointer by David Graves to ignite a decisive 14-point run by the Irish as the Bearcats went scoreless for more than five minutes.

"We weren't very good defensively at the end of the game. I thought for 30 minutes we were very good defensively ... then we just couldn't make shots," said Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins.

Satterfield led Cincinnati (2-1) with 17 points and Donald Little was the only other player in double figures with 12.

"That was a huge confidence builder," Brey said of the late run by his team. "That's what big-time programs do down the stretch. You have to know who to get the ball to."

Graves contributed 17 points to the victory and Ryan Humphrey had 10 rebounds and 10 points.

Satterfield's 3-pointer came with 5:53 to go, then Cincinnati missed eight shots and had two turnovers before his basket with 39.8 seconds to play.

Cincinnati, which shot 46 percent in victories over Marshall and Boise State, was 34 percent from the field and 1-for-17 from 3-point range.

Both teams came out cold. Cincinnati went nearly three minutes before scoring, missing its first four shots before Satterfield made a layup. Notre Dame never trailed, scoring the game's first five points on a jumper by Matt Carroll and a 3-pointer by Martin Ingelsby.

The Bearcats remained close despite hitting only eight of 24 shots from the field to open the game. Notre Dame was only eight of 18 over the same 12 minutes, but the Irish held an 18-14 edge on the strength of four 3-pointers.

Cincinnati closed to one point four times early in the second half, the last at 37-36. The Irish answered with six consecutive points -- four on free throws by Graves and two on Murphy free throws.

"Coach Brey talked a lot about withstanding runs. They came out all jacked up at the beginning of the second half. We had to be poised," Murphy said. "We were prepared for it, and we knew how to come back."

The Irish outrebounded the Bearcats 49-35 and outhustled them for loose balls, leading to a 19-4 point advantage from the free throw line.

 


ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard

Cincinnati Clubhouse

Notre Dame Clubhouse


Wooden wisdom: Game needs less flash, more fundamentals


AUDIO/VIDEO
video
 Notre Dame's Troy Murphy posts up his defender and drains the the turnaround jumper.
avi: 1028 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1

 Cincinnati's Kenny Satterfield makes the steal and finishes with the layup.
avi: 739 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1

 Notre Dame shows how to break a full court press.
avi: 985 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1

 Troy Murphy drains the 3-pointer.
avi: 634 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1