Ethan Roberts scored 18 points on 6-for-7 shooting, including 3-for-4 shooting from beyond the arc, and Notre Dame cruised to an 83-56 win over Mercyhurst on Thursday evening in South Bend, Ind.
Brady Koehler added 17 points for Notre Dame (2-0), which won its home opener after beginning the season in Italy. Braeden Shrewsberry also scored 17 points and made five 3-pointers. Koehler was 4-for-4 from 3.
Jake Lemelman scored 18 points on 6-for-13 shooting to lead Mercyhurst (0-2). Cameron Johnson, Geoff Sprouse and Markus Maxwell-Grimes scored nine points apiece.
The Fighting Irish made 15 3-pointers on 32 attempts, compared with seven 3-pointers on 24 attempts for Mercyhurst.
Notre Dame sprinted to a 14-0 lead to start the game.
Roberts opened the scoring with a 3-pointer off a pass from Braeden Smith in the first minute. Logan Duncomb followed with a layup, Koehler knocked down a 3-pointer, and Shrewsberry made a 3-pointer to put the Fighting Irish on top by 11 less than three minutes in.
Koehler added his second 3-pointer to make it a 14-point run with 16:23 to go in the first half.
Sprouse got Mercyhurst on the board when he made a 3-pointer 16 seconds later.
The Fighting Irish added a 7-0 run later in the half to increase their lead to 21 points. Tommy Ahneman made a hook shot, Devin Brown made a 3-pointer and Shrewsberry made another 3-pointer to put Notre Dame on top 34-13 with 4:37 left.
Mercyhurst answered with a 10-2 run to trim the deficit to 13 points in the final minute of the half. Maxwell-Grimes made a 3-pointer to punctuate the run.
Notre Dame quickly reasserted itself in the second half. The Fighting Irish went on a 17-0 run to turn a 38-27 advantage into a 55-27 lead.
Shrewsberry started the run with back-to-back 3-pointers.
Logan Imes made a pair of free throws to get Notre Dame to the 80-point mark with 5:06 to go.