Binghamton Bearcats at Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Durham's double-double leads Irish past Bearcats, 69-56

"Juwan saved our butts tonight," Brey said after Durham, a 6-foot-11 transfer from Connecticut, had 16 points and 12 rebounds with four blocks in 20 minutes coming off the bench. "I'm excited about his development, and obviously, Johnny continues to be a consistent man for us."

"You can never really replace Rex and all he does for us," Mooney said. "Juwan has been huge for us all year. He's going to continue to be big for us. Blocking shots (and) rebounding the ball, he definitely makes our team better."

Notre Dame struggled early against Binghamton's 2/3 zone, but Durham provided a spark when called on.

"I thought I would be able to rebound the ball more, and I tried to block shots like I always do," Durham said. "Just help our team win."

Freshman point guard Sam Sessoms led the Bearcats (3-9), who lost their fourth straight game, with 25 points thanks to 11-of-18 shooting.

"That was a special performance," Binghamton coach Tommy Dempsey said. "I was proud of my team's effort and fight tonight. Their size on the glass was overwhelming at times."

Notre Dame had a 47-34 edge on the boards, including a 15-6 edge in offensive rebounds. The Irish also had a 7-2 edge in blocked shots, with Mooney picking up a pair.

The Irish survived the Bearcats' 7-0 start and their own 26-percent shooting (8 of 31) to take a 25-21 halftime lead.

Freshman Dane Goodwin started in place of Pflueger and had five of the starting lineup's 11 points. But the Irish stayed close and eventually took the lead because the Bearcats endured scoring droughts of 3:53, 3:01 and finally the final 3:16. Goodwin finished with eight points.

Mooney hit one of two free throws to give the Irish their first led, 16-15, with 7:28 remaining, and the teams exchanged the lead seven times before Notre Dame closed with a 5-0 run, with Durham scoring four of his six team-leading first-half points.

BIG PICTURE

Binghamton: The Bearcats, picked to finish sixth in the nine-team America East, started a three-game road swing nice enough, taking a 7-0 lead in the first 3:32. But they made only seven of their last 19 shots, committed 10 personals and had eight turnovers in the first 20 minutes. A 1-for-7 shooting start in the second half was too much to overcome.

Notre Dame: Fighting Irish are down to eight scholarship players after season-ending injuries to Pflueger (he will have surgery after New Year's), freshman guard Robby Carmody (torn labrum in left shoulder that will require post-Christmas surgery) and senior forward Elijah Burns (left team in November, received degree in December and is seeking NCAA waiver to play immediately for Siena).

UP NEXT

Binghamton: Bearcats visit Barclays Center to play LIU Brooklyn Saturday.

Notre Dame: Fighting Irish play host to Jacksonville Thursday.

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