By Paul Gotham
NOTRE DAME, IN – Eric Atkins donned a new pair of kicks Sunday afternoon. Shimmering with gold the combination birthday/Christmas gift grabbed attention.
The sneakers paled in comparison to his game.
Atkins netted a career-high 30 points and paced the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to an 87-81 overtime defeat of the Canisius Golden Griffins.
For a Notre Dame team looking for answers after the departure of their leading scorer, Atkins provided a timely response.
He connected on 10 of 14 from the floor including 6 of 8 behind the arc. The six treys marked another career best.
“I’ve been in the gym all week with the coaches,” Atkins said. “They’ve been getting me ready to shoot the ball more. It showed tonight.”
Shooting the ball more is something Notre Dame will need Atkins and his teammates to do. With the recent news that Jerian Grant is no longer enrolled at the university, the Irish will be looking to replace his team-leading 19 points and 6.2 assists per game.
Atkins offered an alternative in Notre Dame’s first game in what many referred to as a “new season.” The senior guard nearly tripled his usual output of 11.8 points.
“I am not completely surprised,” Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Brey said of his senior’s performance. “This kid can score. He’s always a scoring guard, and he’s had nights like that when we needed it.”
“That is your senior captain delivering when the team needs it bad,” Brey said. “We really needed it. I think he was excited to go back into that role.”
“I actually told him today,” Brey added. “Everything that’s happening with our team, I think you may be able to be a first-team All ACC guy now.”
But make no mistake, Atkins knows it will take more than him if this Notre Dame team is to reach the NCAA Tournament for a fifth consecutive trip.
“I do know I have to step up,” Atkins commented. “If I shot like this every game, we’ll be pretty tough to beat. But it’s going to be different guys every night. I’m glad I could get this tonight.”
Help also came from freshmen from Steve Vasturia and V.J. Beachem who added five and six points respectively. The pair drilled back-to-back 3-pointers with Vasturia’s three in transition giving ND its first advantage of the second half.
“We had some lineups in there that we never had close to in a game,” Brey stated. “And guys delivered.”
“All nine guys really contributed,” Brey mentioned. “It’s certainly something for us to build on as we get into ACC basketball.”
The Irish used all nine in a first half where Canisius grabbed a nine-point lead.
“We were searching,” Brey said. “We as a coaching staff kind of watched ourselves evolve and how we’re going to play. I still don’t think we have final answers. We were winging it in a game situation trying to figure out what our lineup is.”
The Irish under Brey have overcome lineup changes in the past. Tim Abromaitis injured his knee the day after Thanksgiving of the 2011-12 season and was lost for the year. Scott Martin was lost after six games a year ago. The Irish have also dealt in the past with a late season injury to former All-American Luke Harangody and the dismissal of Kyle McAlarney.
“We got nine happy guys,” Brey said. “They’re all part of it. I told them in the locker room ‘I don’t know who is going to finish the game Saturday. It could be somebody different,’ but it’s exciting to see this evolve.”
A 4 p.m. tip time is scheduled Saturday at the Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center. The game will be televised on CBS.
Paul Gotham is the founder, owner, editor and lead writer at Pickin’ Splinters. Paul is the Communications and Media Director of the New York Collegiate Baseball League. He is a contributor at USA Today and member of the USBWA. You can follow Paul on Twitter @PickinSplinters.
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