No. 16 Notre Dame Tops NIU, 91-66
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- Pat Connaughton had 21 points and 10 rebounds, leading No. 16 Notre Dame to a 91-66 win over Northern Illinois on Monday night.
Zach Auguste added 16 points on 7-for-7 shooting and eight rebounds for the Fighting Irish (12-1). Demetrius Jackson also scored 16, with five assists and four steals.
All five starters scored in double figures for Notre Dame, which shot 58.9 percent from the field and hit 12 of 28 attempts from 3-point range. Connaughton was 8 for 12 from the floor, including 5 of 9 from beyond the arc.
Midway through the first half, the Huskies (4-5) pulled even at 21 on a 3-pointer by Michael Orris. Steve Vasturia quickly answered with a 3 of his own, triggering a 27-14 Notre Dame run to finish the half.
Jerian Grant's step-back 3 at the buzzer put the Irish up 48-35.
Connaughton took over in the second half. During a 19-13 Irish run to start the half, he made a trio of 3-pointers, a short jumper and converted an alley-oop layup off a fast-break feed from Jackson, putting Notre Dame up 67-48.
As they have all season, Notre Dame enjoyed balanced offense. Grant had 11 points, though he shot 2 for 9, and Vasturia finished with 10.
Darrell Bowie led Northern Illinois with 15 points.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.