SOUTH BEND - Another non-conference home game Sunday produced another lopsided win in front of another small and subdued crowd at Purcell Pavilion for the Notre Dame men’s basketball team.

Luke Harangody barely broke a sweat in scoring a season-high 32 points to go with nine rebounds. Tyrone Nash added 12 points as the Irish moved to 4-0 following a 91-72 victory over Liberty in the opening round of the Chicago Invitational Challenge.

A 14-2 run midway through the second half helped the Irish, who won each of their first three games by an average of 22 points, extend a comfortable lead well into 20 points.

The halftime plan was obvious - get the ball inside to the All-American and let him go to work. Four consecutive baskets at close range from Harangody helped turn an eight-point advantage into a 15-point cushion in less than five minutes.

Baskets by Harangody and Tory Jackson pushed it close to 20. When Tim Abromaitis spotted up the corner, took a pass from Jonathan Peoples and fired from 3, it was 67-47 with more than 13 minutes still to go. Six minutes still remained, and Irish coach Mike Brey was calling for his guys to move and cut and swing the ball - obvious signs of a blowout.

Notre Dame led by as many 10 on five different occasions in a first half where the Irish lived at the foul line. The home team jumped into the bonus with 10:39 still remaining, and scored their final 10 points from the stripe. Notre Dame managed only one basket - an Abromaitis lay-in - the final 5:10. Abromaitis was again a boost off the bench with nine points in 12 minutes. Harangody led all scores at the break with 20.

Harangody, whose work also included banking in a 3-pointer from the corner, was 10-of-10 from the foul line the first 20 minutes. Notre Dame was 18-of-24 as a team. Liberty finished 5-for-7.

With the Irish able to keep a comfortable working the lead the final 14 minutes of the first half allowed, Brey experimented with several lineup looks. Freshman Joey Brooks checked in the earliest in a game during his brief career and played three minutes. Ben Hansbrough played some point guard. Liberty his 6-of-11 from 3, which usually means a steady diet of man defense from the Irish. But Brey decided to work in a little 2-3 zone, which helped little as the Flames shot 51.9 percent from the field.

Picked to finish seventh in the Big South, the Flames had lost their previous two games, both at home -by an average of 36 points. That included a contest against nationally-ranked Clemson where Liberty could do little right. The Flames labored to only 19 first-half points that day, but were able to get in a good offensive rhythm in their first-ever trip to South Bend. It didn’t last.

The Irish return to action in the second round of the Chicago invitational Challenge at home Tuesday against Kennesaw (Ga.) State. Freshman Thomas Knight missed his fourth consecutive game while recovering a sprained foot. He could be back for Tuesday’s game, the second of four for the Irish this week.