The Notre Dame men's basketball team moved up two spots to 20th in the AP poll. The Irish were looking to open the season 2-and-0 as they brought in Monmouth Monday night.
Garrick Sherman had 22 points and seven rebounds to lead No. 20 Notre Dame to an 84-57 victory over Monmouth on Monday night.
Jack Cooley added 16 points for the Irish (2-0) and Pat Connaughton had 13.
Monmouth (1-1) scored the game's first four points, but Cooley's free throw 4 minutes into the game put the Irish ahead for good. Notre Dame stretched its lead to 17 points with 1:31 to go in the first half, before Monmouth's Andrew Nicholas cut the deficit to 12 with a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Notre Dame, which out rebounded Monmouth 42-24, only shot 61 percent from the free throw line.
