South Bend - Senior Jack Cooley posted a game-high 19 points while grabbing 11 rebounds and blocking six shots, as No.22 Notre Dame defeated Evansville, 58-49, in the season opener for both teams.

Cooley shot 5-of-7 from the field, connected on 8-of-14 free throws and was just one of two scorers in double-figures for the Fighting Irish (1-0), who fell to Xavier in the second round of NCAA Tournament last season.

Jerian Grant added 11 points in the victory for Notre Dame, which remained undefeated in season openers under head coach Mike Brey.

Colt Ryan led Evansville with 15 points, while Ryan Sawvell notched a double- double with 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Purple Aces (0-1), who had come in as victors in their previous four season openers.

Notre Dame was in control the entire game and hardly ever trailed. The Fighting Irish took a 6-4 lead on pair of Cooley free throws less than four minutes in and never looked back.

Jordan Nelson drained a 3-pointer for the Aces to cut their deficit to three at 14-11, but Notre Dame began to pull away after that. Pat Connaughton buried a three with 6:11 remaining in the period to give the Fighting Irish a 10- point advantage at 23-13, which was cut to seven by halftime when Evansville closed within 28-21.

A three-point play by Ryan cut the Purple Aces' deficit to 32-26 early in the second half, but Notre Dame responded with a 5-0 run to reclaim a double-digit lead five minutes into the period.

Back-to-back scores brought Evansville to within seven at 43-36, but they never pulled any closer the rest of the game.

Game Notes

The contest marked the first of two preliminary round games of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic ... The Irish return to action Monday against Monmouth, while Evansville will play Buffalo on Thursday ... The Irish improved to 90-18 in season openers and 6-4 all-time against the Purple Aces.

Team 1 2 Score Evansville 21 28 49 Notre Dame 28 30 58   Evansville Notre Dame PTS 49 58 FG 19 - 61 18 - 45 3P 5 - 21 4 - 17 FT 6 - 7 18 - 30 REB 34 44 AST 12 14 PF 22 11

Evansville PTS TOT A BL Ryan Sawvell 10 11 0 0 Troy Taylor 2 6 2 0 Colt Ryan 15 2 3 0 Jordan Jahr 0 2 1 0 Ned Cox 5 3 3 0 Jordan Nelson 3 1 1 0 Lewis Jones 3 2 0 0 Jaylon Moore 2 3 0 1 D.J. Balentine 9 3 2 0 Egidijus Mockevicius 0 0 0 0 TEAM 0 1 0 0

Notre Dame PTS TOT A BL Jack Cooley 19 11 1 6 Eric Atkins 7 4 4 0 Scott Martin 6 17 3 0 Jerian Grant 11 2 0 0 Pat Connaughton 5 5 3 1 Cameron Biedscheid 7 2 2 0 Garrick Sherman 3 3 1 2 TEAM 0 0 0 0

Evansville Shooting FG 3P FT Ryan Sawvell 5 - 10 0 - 1 0 - 1 Troy Taylor 1 - 4 0 - 0 0 - 0 Colt Ryan 6 - 14 0 - 3 3 - 3 Jordan Jahr 0 - 6 0 - 5 0 - 0 Ned Cox 1 - 7 1 - 3 2 - 2 Jordan Nelson 1 - 4 1 - 4 0 - 0 Lewis Jones 1 - 6 0 - 0 1 - 1 Jaylon Moore 1 - 1 0 - 0 0 - 0 D.J. Balentine 3 - 8 3 - 5 0 - 0 Egidijus Mockevicius 0 - 1 0 - 0 0 - 0 TEAM 0 - 0 0 - 0 0 - 0

Notre Dame Shooting FG 3P FT Jack Cooley 5 - 7 1 - 1 8 - 14 Eric Atkins 2 - 6 0 - 1 3 - 8 Scott Martin 1 - 6 0 - 1 4 - 4 Jerian Grant 5 - 10 1 - 3 0 - 0 Pat Connaughton 2 - 8 1 - 6 0 - 0 Cameron Biedscheid 3 - 7 1 - 5 0 - 0 Garrick Sherman 0 - 1 0 - 0 3 - 4 TEAM 0 - 0 0 - 0 0 - 0

Evansville Misc MIN PF TO STL Ryan Sawvell 27 4 0 0 Troy Taylor 22 4 2 1 Colt Ryan 27 4 2 1 Jordan Jahr 20 3 1 1 Ned Cox 37 0 0 1 Jordan Nelson 15 0 0 0 Lewis Jones 22 3 1 2 Jaylon Moore 8 0 0 0 D.J. Balentine 17 0 0 0 Egidijus Mockevicius 5 4 1 0 TEAM 0 0 1 0

Notre Dame Misc MIN PF TO STL Jack Cooley 28 3 2 0 Eric Atkins 37 2 1 1 Scott Martin 37 2 2 1 Jerian Grant 37 1 3 0 Pat Connaughton 30 2 1 1 Cameron Biedscheid 16 1 0 0 Garrick Sherman 15 0 4 0 TEAM 0 0 0 0