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SOUTH BEND – Notre Dame needed a little extra time to get ready for the second half Thursday against Long Beach State as the Irish called a timeout nine seconds into the second.
The extra time to work out a play for guard Ben Hansbrough worked, as Notre Dame opened the half with a big run en route to a 82-62 victory in Purcell Pavilion.
Coach Mike Brey said the first play of the second half was designed for Hansbrough, who injured his hip and ankle after a fall in the first half.
It worked as the senior sliced through the lane for a layup and the Irish (3-0) outscored the 49ers (2-1) 13-2 in the opening four minutes of the second to take a 50-37 lead.
“Luckily, he gets in there and gets a bucket,” Brey said. “And now he is starting to feel part of it.”
Hansbrough scored nine of his 11 points in the second half with five coming in the four-minute run in which he also assisted on a Tyrone Nash dunk that capped the run.
Notre Dame caused a lot of its damage in the paint, scoring 50 points. Long Beach had 36.
Irish forward Luke Harangody finished with 29 points and 12 rebounds, and Tory Jackson had 13. Tim Abromaitis scored 11, and Jonathan Peoples added 10.
“Everyone contributed,” Jackson said. “Having that balanced attack like that was great for us.”
Larry Anderson led Long Beach with 20 points, but he only scored four points after the first half.
“We talked about our defensive intensity picking up in the second half,” Peoples said of the Irish holding the 49ers to 11-of-29 shooting in the second half. “We were real aware on team defense in the second half.”
The Irish had a 10-4 lead four minutes into the game, but but only led 37-35 at halftime.
“It was kind of like a Big East game in the first half,” Harangody said. “I think in the second half, when we needed to put them away we did.”
