Notre Dame will look to improve its scoring production when it plays Division II Quincy tonight at the Joyce Center, Irish coach Mike Brey said Wed-nesday.
"I'd like to see us be better offensively, to get off to a better start," Brey said. "That has been the focus since last Friday."
Notre Dame shot just 36 percent from the field in its 59-40 win over Lewis University Nov. 3.
The offensive production will start with Chris Quinn and Colin Falls - who shot 4-of-14 and 3-of-10, respectively, against Lewis. Quinn finished as the high scorer for the Irish with 14 points, despite starting off 2-of-11 from the field.
Notre Dame was 9-of-36 in the first half as a team.
"That's what for the exhibition is for," Irish forward Torin Francis said. "To work on things that you need to work on to prepare yourself for the season."
Francis played well offensively against Lewis. He finished with eight points on 3-of-6 shooting, while facing double teams for much of the game.
Brey started Chris Quinn, Colin Falls, Russell Carter, Rob Kurz and Francis in the first exhibition of the season.
"That group has been really consistent and solid," Brey said.
Brey anticipates going with the same lineup to begin the game tonight against the Hawks, but will rotate players and experiment with different lineups much like he did last week.
"You're still searching and looking at some combinations, and who plays with who best," Brey said.
"There will be more moving parts this year than ever before. Having said that, at some point you do have to be committed to minutes in certain areas, and when you do that it means you're going to be decommitted to a guy or two."
Notre Dame went to a smaller lineup against Lewis, using Quinn and freshman point guard Kyle McAlarney in the same backcourt set. The Irish will not have that option Friday, as McAlarney will be sidelined with a sore back.
"He's an impact guy for us," Brey said. "That rearranges some things this week, but we are going to try to get the back spasm thing calmed down."
Notre Dame will see the return of forward Rick Cornett instead. Cornett was out with a sore left ankle last Thursday.
The Irish played well defensively against Lewis despite their offensive struggles. Led by Francis' nine blocked shots, Notre Dame limited its opponent to 17-of-56 shooting.
"I thought we were in very good position the other night," Brey said. "We did a good job continually defending."
Last season, Notre Dame defeated Quincy 80-61 on Nov. 10, 2004. Quinn led the Irish with 25 points in the game on 8-of-11 shooting, including 5-of-8 from three-point range.
Notre Dame and Quincy will tip off at 9:30 p.m. at the Joyce Center.
