South Bend, IN (Best E Casino) - Ryan Ayers and Kyle McAlarney combined to drain 16-of-27 shots from behind the arc for 62 points as the seventh-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish came away with a 102-76 victory over the overmatched South Dakota Coyotes.

Ayers hit nine three-pointers en route to a career-high 35 points to go with six rebounds, while McAlarney made seven from downtown for 27 points as the Irish (6-1) won their second straight game since losing to top-ranked North Carolina in the Maui Invitational championship.

"We play so well against the zone defense," Ayers said. "We pass the ball so well and we've played so much together that it's easy to pick apart the zone...McAlarney and I had many shot opportunities. We just have a lot of weapons out there and it's really hard to guard us."

South Dakota (3-5), which competes at the Division II level, was led by Jesse Becker's 24 points and six rebounds. Tyler Cain chipped in 12 points, seven boards and five assists in the loss.

The rout was on right from the opening tip, as the Irish jumped out to a 14-0 lead when Ayers sunk back-to-back threes just under two minutes into the game.

Notre Dame shot a superb 14-of-23 from behind the arc in the first half to double-up the Coyotes, 60-30.

Though South Dakota shot 58.6 percent from the field in the second half, including seven triples, the Irish lead was never seriously threatened and the hosts extended their home winning streak to 40 games.

"I appreciate the opportunity to come in here and play a team like that," South Dakota head coach Dave Boots said. "I have great respect for their program and it was a really good experience for our kids to see a team of that level and they played terrific. Obviously they are over our heads in talent."

Game Notes

Notre Dame's Luke Harangody, the reigning Big East player of the year, sat out for the second straight game due to pneumonia...Steve Smith and Louie Krogman each tallied 11 points for South Dakota, while Notre Dame's Zach Hillesland grabbed a game-high nine rebounds...The Irish finished with 19 three-pointers, breaking the school record of 17 set against St. John's in 2004.