Trey Wertz had much needed good game off the bench
Trey Wertz scoring 12 points off the bench could not have come at a better time. This tied his season-high of 12 points in a game. It was only the second time he reached double figures in scoring on the year. Wertz also scored 12 points in the big win over Kentucky in December.
When Nate Laszewski went down coach Mike Brey needed somebody else to try and help contribute. Wertz was definitely the answer on Saturday. As mentioned earlier, the Irish only go seven deep in the rotation and without Laszewski it went down to really only six guys. At one point when Atkinson Jr. was in foul trouble, they went to a five-guard look on the floor including Wertz.
The former Santa Clara product can fill it up, but just has not really done it this year so far. Last year Wertz had six games where he finished in double figures in scoring including a 27 point game against Purdue. Coach Mike Brey has mentioned to the media sometimes that they would like Trey Wertz to be more aggressive and hunt his shot more. The Irish will need Wertz down the stretch to continue to contribute off the bench and be a factor.