SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Another big night from senior captain V.J. Beachem helped deliver another nonleague win for No. 24 Notre Dame.

Beachem scored a game-high 18 points as the Irish wrapped nonconference play with a 63-55 victory over Saint Peter's on Wednesday at Purcell Pavilion.

Notre Dame (11-2) earned its second win in a row after a two-game losing streak.

"Ugly wins are still wins," Irish junior power forward Bonzie Colson said. "It was an ugly game."

Senior captain Steve Vasturia added 11 points as the Irish moved to 11-2 heading into Atlantic Coast Conference play, which commences Saturday at Pittsburgh.

"It's a win," Vasturia said. "At the end of the day, that's the most important thing."

It was an odd night in myriad ways for Notre Dame, which scored a season low for points while having to dig in and defend for long possessions before trying not to play too fast on the other end. The end results were mixed.

Sometimes the Irish played with poise and pace; other times, not so much.

Notre Dame tied its season high for turnovers -- 14 -- for a second game in a row. The Irish shot 49 percent from the floor but only 31.6 percent (6 of 19) from 3-point range and 69.2 percent (9 of 13) from the foul line.

The Irish entered the game the nation's best on free-throw shooting at 85.6 percent.

"It's one of those nights where we had to bring our own energy, and I don't think we did," Beachem said.

Nick Griffin scored a team-high 16 points in his first start of the season for Saint Peter's (5-7).

"I thought our energy for 40 minutes was really good," Peacocks coach John Dunne said. "Our whole game plan was try to control tempo offensively, not let them get out in transition.

"Our effort was really, really good."

Notre Dame managed only six fastbreak points.

When Beachem connected on two free throws near the midpoint of the first half, it gave the Irish a 19-9 lead. It also marked the 13th game in nonleague play -- all of them -- that Notre Dame led by at least 10 points.

How weird a night was it? Irish sophomore guard Rex Pflueger, who had played 218 total minutes in 12 games without a turnover, committed two -- one in each half. Junior guard Matt Farrell missed a free throw. He entered Wednesday having hit all 27 this season.

"We got all the streaks out," coach Mike Brey said. "Nobody's protecting anything right now. The heck with the streaks. It's great.

"Now we're in a fist fight for 2 1/2 months, man, so let's just go grind."

Farrell's older brother, Bo, a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army who surprised the family at the previous home game, was back Wednesday taking in the game as a fan. He also traded his Army fatigues for a blue and gold Notre Dame long-sleeve shirt.

NOTES: Saint Peter's never finished higher than fourth place in the MAAC in the past 10 years. The Peacocks won five games overall five years ago. ... Saint Peter's sophomore G Cameron Jones, a cousin of former Irish swingman Torrian Jones, is sitting out this season as a redshirt. ... Notre Dame leads the all-time series 5-0. The teams had not met since an 85-67 Irish victory in South Bend on Dec. 31, 1999. ... Notre Dame opens ACC play Saturday at Pittsburgh in its first true road game. That starts a stretch of three league games in eight days. ... The Peacocks play host to Monmouth on Jan. 2 in the resumption of MAAC play. Saint Peter's is already 1-1 in league action.