Auguste Leads No. 18 Notre Dame Past UMass Lowell, 83-57
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Zach Auguste scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and No. 18 Notre Dame earned an 83-57 win over UMass Lowell on Saturday.
With no River Hawk taller than 6-foot-8 to challenge him in the post, the 6-10 Auguste found his way to the basket early and often, scoring 15 of his points in the first half on 6-of-8 shooting.
Demetrius Jackson had 15 points and five assists for the Irish (3-0), Bonzie Colson added 11 points and tied his career high with nine rebounds, and Steve Vasturia added 12 points.
Matt Harris scored 16 points to lead UMass Lowell (1-2) in the first meeting of the schools.
Notre Dame opened the second half with a 7-0 run and took a 21-point lead on Vasturia's 3-pointer. That lead increased to 30 six minutes later on Jackson's pull-up jumper from the right baseline as the Irish cruised.
Lowell struggled, hitting three of its first 17 shots, including seven straight misses. Notre Dame went on a 9-0 run in that stretch to go up by 17 points halfway through the first half.
Irish coach Mike Brey took the opportunity to go deep into his bench, but the River Hawks found their range, hitting three straight 3-pointers, including back-to-back 3s by reserve D.J. Mlachnik. That cut the Irish lead to single digits at 33-24 with three minutes left in the first half.
The Irish starters returned to the floor at that point and scored the final five points of the half to push their advantage to 14 at the break.
TIP-INS
Notre Dame improved to 60-1 at home in the month of November under head coach Mike Brey, and 15-0 all-time against the America East Conference.
Lowell freshman Isaac White leads team in scoring at 16 points per game and hit a last-second shot to beat Sacred Heart for the River Hawks' only win.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame takes on Monmouth on Thursday in the Advocare Invitational in Orlando, Fla.
Lowell returns home to face Wheelock on Tuesday.
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