Notre Dame 74, Sam Houston St. 41

Notre Dame freshman Pat Connaughton outscored Sam Houston State in the first half as the shorthanded Fighting Irish cruised to a 74-41 victory on Wednesday night.

Connaughton scored 17 of his 24 points before halftime, while Notre Dame (3-0) held Sam Houston State to 16 points.

Marcus James had 16 points and eight rebounds for the Bearkats (1-1).

The Irish made due with only seven scholarship players for much of the game.

Senior forward Tim Abromaitis sat out, serving the third of his four-game suspension. Guard Eric Atkins, who led the team in scoring (averaging 20 points) in its first two games, was sidelined with an illness.

Jerian Grant had 17 points and seven assists for Notre Dame.