SOUTH BEND, IND. – In its opening game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, Monmouth University fell at the University of Notre Dame, ranked 20th in the nation, 84-57, in Purcell Pavilion on Monday night. Monmouth, now 1-1 on the year, was led offensively by senior Dion Nesmith (Union, N.J./Union), who had 13 points, while sophomore Andrew Nicholas (Wrightsville, Pa./Eastern York) had nine.

Nesmith, who hit 5-of-10 from the field, added three rebounds, three assists and three steals, while senior Jesse Steele (Milford, N.J./Oak Hill Academy) added four points and five assists.

The Hawks connected on 38.9% (21-54) from the field, and hit just 2-of-11 from beyond the arc.

"I take my hat off to the Notre Dame staff and kids. They are a very disciplined team that plays together," stated Monmouth head coach King Rice. "Just a great coaching job by Coach Brey. As for our kids, I thought they fought hard. We are still going to need to get more leadership from the coaches first and from our older guys. But I love this team. I think this team has a chance, and something special is happening with this team right now. Even after a big loss, I think there is room for improvement and we are going to be a lot closer than we were last year." 

The Hawks jumped out with a 4-0 lead on baskets from Steele and Marcus Ware (Vineland, N.J./Vineland), before the Irish netted the next seven, capped by four straight from Jack Cooley to take a 7-4 edge with 15:35 remaining. Monmouth knotted the score at 7-7 following a Ware free throw, but ND responded with a 12-2 run over 4:22 to take a 19-9 lead.

Stephen Spinella's (Colts Neck, N.J./Apex Academy) three-point play halted the Irish run, cutting the lead to 19-12 at 8:58, before ND scored the next nine points to push its advantage to 28-12.

Four quick points, including a layup from Nicholas and Nesmith's corner jumper out of a media timeout, pulled the Hawks within30-18 with 3:12 showing. Monmouth, which trailed by as many as 17, 35-18 with 1:29 left, climbed within 35-23 at the break on Nicholas' corner three-pointer as time expired, off a feed from Steele.

The Irish built a 20-point edge, 52-32 with 13:20 left, before the Hawks battled back with a 6-0 spurt, including a pair of Nicholas hoops, to make the tally 52-38 at 12:46.

Following a Nesmith drive, which made the score 56-43 with 10:57 remaining, the Irish answered with a 10-0 spurt over the next 2:05 to grab a 66-43 advantage with 8:35 remaining.

After Khalil Brown's (South Orange, N.J./Westwind Academy) baseline jump shot made the score 70-55 with 4:37 left, Notre Dame put together a 10-0 run, including consecutive three-pointers, to take an 80-55 advantage with 2:29 showing.

Notre Dame (2-0) had three players in double-figures, led by Garrick Sherman's 22 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Cooley netted 16 for the Irish to go along with nine boards, while Pat Connaughton added 13 points and five assists.

Notre Dame, which had 24 assists on 31 baskets, hit 53.4% from the floor and went 16-of-26 from the free throw line.

Monmouth returns to action on Saturday, when the Hawks travel to Lawrenceville to battle in-state rival Rider University at 2:00 p.m.