SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The Bowling Green men’s basketball team gave Notre Dame a test on Tuesday, keeping things close into the second half before the Irish pulled away in the final nine minutes for a 82-66 victory at the Joyce Center.

The Falcons (2-3) led 61-59 for a 30-second stretch midway through the second half, and a Samari Curtis 3-pointer with 8:27 to go halted a 6-0 Notre Dame run and pulled BG within a point.

Notre Dame, however, scored 17 straight points to put the game out of reach. BG went 0-of-8 from the field with two turnovers during that stretch.

Dane Goodwin’s turnaround jumper and Nate Laszewski’s dunk gave Notre Dame a 69-64 lead with 6:47 remaining. JJ Starling scored off a steal, then he made 2 of 3 free throws to put the Irish up 73-64 with 4:27 to go.

Laszewski’s 3-pointer at the 3:04 mark put Notre Dame up 12. A Trey Wertz basket off a turnover, a pair of free throws from Cormac Ryan, and a driving layup from Ryan closed out the run.

Jackson Watson made a jumper in the paint with 11 seconds to go to snap the run and conclude scoring.

Curtis paced Bowling Green with 14 points, with Leon Ayers III and Rashaun Agee each putting in 13. The Falcons shot 53.3 percent (16 of 30)  from the field in the first half, but were held to 33.3 percent (10 of 30) in the second half.

Notre Dame had a 13-4 edge in points off turnovers and a 44-34 advantage in points in the paint.

Starling led Notre Dame with 23 points, with Laszewski scoring 22. Ven-Allen Lubin scored 12 points, and Goodwin had 11.

Tuesday’s game capped a four-game road swing for Bowling Green. The Falcons return home for a 4 p.m. contest Saturday against Southern Indiana.

First Published November 23, 2022, 3:34 a.m.