Notre Dame 107, Siena 96
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Troy Murphy scored 31 points to lead Notre Dame to a 107-96 win over Siena Thursday in the second NIT round.The Irish (2-0) will take on the winner of Friday's New Mexico State-Arizona game in the semifinals next week. Siena dropped to 1-1.
Much as in their win over No. 4 Ohio State Tuesday, the Irish had turnover problems but shot a torrid pace to make up for it. They were 32-of-53 from the field, 10-of-19 from 3-point range, with 27 turnovers.
They turned the ball over 25 times against the Buckeyes but shot 50 percent from the floor.
Siena pressed all game with inconsistent results. The Irish either broke down and turned the ball over or broke the press for easy points.
David Graves and Matt Carroll each scored 16 for Notre Dame, while Martin Ingelsby had 15.
The Irish also dominated at the line with 34 Siena fouls. The Irish were 33-of-39, while the Saints were 17-of-24.
Notre Dame opened a seven-point lead in the first half on a rare five-point play. Ingelsby hit a 3-pointer, and officials ruled he was fouled after the shot, giving him a 1-and-1 opportunity. Ingelsby hit both to put the Irish up 29-22 with 7:54 left. Notre Dame would lead by as many as 11 before going into the half up 50-41, despite 15 turnovers.