SOUTH BEND – Three Notre Dame seniors were solid Thursday when needed against Long Beach State.

Luke Harangody scored a game-high 29 points, Tory Jackson added 13 and Ben Hansbrough delivered 11 as the Irish moved to 3-0 with a 82-62 victory at Purcell Pavilion.

This was a game that Long Beach State called Notre Dame to schedule and for a while, everyone saw why. Picked to win the Big West conference, the 49ers are good. But the Irish were better when needed.

A close contest was busted open early in the second half as the Irish raced away with 11 of the first 13 points. That turned a two-point lead into a 13-point cushion with 16:52 remaining. Harangody offered four quick points. Jonathan Peoples delivered a baseline jumper. And the combination of Hansbrough and Ty Nash hooked up on consecutive possessions to push the Irish lead into double digits for the first time.

Hansbrough found Nash down low for a dunk to make it 47-37. Following a 49er timeout, Nash made a steal and threw ahead to Hansbrough. With Mike Brey calling for the Irish to work the tempo, Hansbrough instead dribbled back behind the 3-point line and fired to make it 50-37.

Before Thursday’s game, Brey warned his club that it would resembled a Big East type of contest, and he was right. Notre Dame sprinted to an early six-point lead, but it didn’t last for long after Long Beach State sophomore swingman Larry Anderson got going. Anderson scored 11 points in 4:39 as the 49ers went on a 9-2 run to take a one-point lead.

At one point in the first half, the Irish were shooting 57.1 percent, and still trailing.

Out-rebounded two nights earlier by 17 in a win at Pepperdine, Long Beach State out-rebounded Notre Dame 19-17 in the first half.

Anderson erupted for 16 in the opening half as the 49ers shot 44.1 percent.

The first half was quite entertaining for a non-conference November game. The first 20 minutes featured three ties and 12 lead changes. Notre Dame led by as many as six; Long Beach State led by as many as four. Active and energetic on the offensive end, the 49ers were a difficult matchup for most of the half for the Irish, who stayed strictly man-to-man. It was one of those nights in which Notre Dame just had to guard somebody if it expected to win.

Notre Dame needed a big night from its two main seniors – Harangody and Jackson – and both responded with solid first halves. Harangody continued to find different ways to score – a 3 from the corner, a reverse lay-up or two – to go for 12 points. Jackson added eight.

Hansbrough took a scary fall late in the first half while going up for a rebound. He was knocked off balance and landed hard on his hip. He spent a brief stretch on the bench, returned to the game, but did not score the rest of the way. Hansbrough later sprained his right ankle going for a rebound midway through the second half.

An Irish bench that goes only two deep as it is was cut even shorter on Thursday, particularly early. Six Irish logged double figures for minutes, including at least 16 for each of the starters. Carleton Scott, the seventh man, played four minutes.

Irish freshman Thomas Knight was dressed in street clothes for the third consecutive game while recovering from a sprained foot. Knight may be back for Tuesday’s game against Kennesaw (Ga.) State.

Notre Dame returns to action Sunday at home against Liberty.