Notre Dame’s pace was off. The Irish were overanxious at the beginning of their NCAA opener, knowing that as a second seed they were expected to win against Akron.Leading the scrappy Zips by four at the break, the Irish scored the first nine of the second half to build a more comfortable lead and then held on for a 69-56 victory Friday in the second round of the Southwest Regional at the United Center.Ben Hansbrough, whom Brey said was playing too fast in the first 20 minutes, finished with 15 points. Tim Abromaitis added 14, Scott Martin pitched in nine of his 11 points in the second half and Carleton Scott tied his high with 14 rebounds.Next up for the Irish (27-6) is Florida State, a 57-50 winner over Texas A&M.Martin — a transfer from Purdue who sat out two seasons, one after blowing out his knee — was a key in the second half, scoring six early points and getting the Irish on track.Hansbrough, the Big East Player of the Year who shot just 3-for-16 in a loss to Louisville in the semifinals of the conference tourney, was just 4 of 11 from the field but was 6 for 6 from the line and had six assists.The 15th-seeded Zips (23-13) were appearing in just their third NCAA Division I tournament and second in three years. Entering the game, they’d won 11 of their previous 13, beating Kent State in the Mid-American Conference tournament to get into the tournament.Their defense played Notre Dame’s motion offense tough, especially with 7-footer Zeke Marshall there to block four shots and change the trajectory of numerous others.The Irish had a huge advantage at the foul line, shooting 20 for 26 to just 3 for 6 for the Zips.With Notre Dame up 34-30 at the half, Tyrone Nash’s three-point play and Martin’s jumper got the Irish off to a quick start. A middle-of-the-lane jumper by Scott and another basket by Martin put the Irish up 43-30 as Akron missed its first eight shots of the half. The Zips later ran off seven straight points to get back in it. They stayed within five when Marshall — 1 for 11 from the field at that point — dropped in a basket off an inbound pass with just more than 10 minutes to go.Abromaitis, who got off only two shots in the first half, then sank his second 3-pointer and Scott hit a jumper from the baseline, was fouled and converted a three-point play for a 55-44 lead.

E’Twaun Moore scored 19 points and JuJuan Johnson added 16 with 16 rebounds Friday night as third-seeded Purdue routed St. Peter’s 65-43 in the second round of the NCAA’s Southwest Region.The Boilermakers (26-7), who made the round of 16 the previous two seasons, will face the Georgetown-Virginia Commonwealth winner Sunday at the United Center for a return trip.Winning their first game in the NCAA tournament is commonplace for the Boilermakers. They’ve now captured their opener in their last 13 appearances.Purdue led 33-17 at the half and then broke away in the second after scoring the first seven points. The Peacocks (20-14) were led by Jeron Belin’s 12 points but shot only 29 percent.An early 9-0 spurt featured the 6-foot-10 Johnson’s highlight-reel dunk as he soared to grab an alley-oop inbound pass from Terone Johnson. D.J. Byrd’s 3-pointer capped the run and put the Boilermakers in control early at 15-4.Purdue, playing without suspended backup guard Kelsey Barlow, got a lift from Terone Johnson, a freshman. He had five first-half points, four assists and a late 3-pointer that lifted Purdue to a 33-17 halftime lead.St. Peter’s, in the tournament for the first time since 1995, got in by winning three straight games to capture the MAAC tournament. The Peacocks beat Alabama at an early-season tournament, showing they could play with any team.But the one-two punch of Johnson and Moore, who combined for 53 percent of the Boilermakers’ points this season, was too much. The two stars exited the game with just a little more than four minutes remaining.Starting the second half, Johnson grabbed an offensive rebound and hooked in a shot, Byrd found the range again on a 3-pointer and Lewis Jackson’s driving basket highlighted a 7-0 spurt that put the Boilermakers up 40-17. Purdue increased the lead to 27 before the Peacocks used a 14-3 run to show some life, but by then it was way too late.